Past Endeavors
by BlackwolfBreen
Summary: The product of boredom. I wrote a What If, and added my friend and myself into a story with the Marauders. Peter isn't in it yet, just bear with me. Slight NCIS crossover. R&R greatly appreciated
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I -- Flaming Bird Poop

"Miss Scutio!"

The sixth year Slytherin was awoken suddenly by the voice of an annoyed professor. She looked around, seafoam eyes trying to adjust to the bright light in the greenhouse.

"This is the fourth time you've fallen asleep in this class today. I'm going to have to ask you to, regretfully, see the Headmaster." The girl's face brightened and she tried not to grin.

"Miss DiNozzo, please make sure Miss Scutio actually makes it there this time. We don't want another incident like last time, do we?" The stout, grey-haired witch gave a frown as she motioned a Ravenclaw off towards the door that the Slytherin was exiting.

"I don't see how you fall asleep in the middle of Herbology. I mean, it's the middle of the day and we _are_ in a greenhouse, after all. And how do you fall asleep standing up in the first place, Lauren?" The Ravenclaw glanced over at the other girl, awaiting a response.

"I've had plenty of practice." Lauren stated simply as they neared the entrance to Hogwarts castle. "You should know that by now, Rosemary."

"What, going against the rules or falling asleep standing up?"

The strawberry-blonde thought a moment before replying, "Both."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Rosemary opened the great doors and stepped inside, Lauren close behind. "Now which way to Dumbledore's?"

"Follow me!" Lauren exclaimed with a wave. Rosemary shook her head with a laugh and followed quickly, not bothering to join in the fun.

After a few twists and turns here and there, a couple of ghosts passed, and a flight of stairs later, the girls arrived at a large statue of a griffin.They stepped on as it began to spiral upwards. The two stopped at a pair of magnificent doors, both of which were promptly opened by Lauren.

"What's up, Dumbledore?" Lauren asked happily as a bearded face turned their way.

Rosemary greeted him with a polite. "Hello, Professor."

A pair of twinkling blue eyes watched them from behind half-moon spectacles. "Ahh, I see my favorite students have decided to pay me a visit today. How fortunate."

"Well, sort of..." Rosemary stared pointedly at Lauren. "_Someone_ decided to take a nap in Herbology today. _Standing up_."

Dumbledore's eyes seemed to laugh, but he made no change in expression. "I see Professor Sprout took a little longer than usual to send you here. How many times did you fall asleep, Miss Scutio?"

"Four." Rosemary stated before Lauren had a chance to say anything.

"Ahh, a new record."

"Hey, I _am_ in the room, you know." Said Lauren, giving them an offended look, which was outweighed by the smile that played across her lips.

"Someone needs to come up with some sort of in-dream classes... Then maybe you'd know what's going on," the Ravenclaw laughed. She saw Dumbledore look to Lauren and give her a subtle look.

Rosemary turned towards Lauren, who was now trying to look innocent. "You were about to smack me in the back of the head, weren't you?"

"No." The answer came back a little too quickly.

"She was, wasn't she, Professor?" Rosemary looked back at Dumbledore with a glare.

Dumbledore smiled slightly and changed the subject. "You know, I'm going to have to give you a detention. Professor Binns has been needing someone to help him dust off some of his old artifacts."

"Aww, not Binns!" Rosemary groaned. "He's so... so... boring! If he wasn't a ghost already, he could bore _himself_ to death!" Then it dawned on her; she smiled. "Hey, I don't get detention! Technically, I wasn't the one falling asleep. I'm just the escort."

"I don't think so. You're coming with me. There's no way I'm staying all day with that old fart," she looked to Dumbledore and added a quick, "No offense, Professor," before continuing. "You still owe me for all the times you got into detention and I stayed with you."

"I was in detention because _you_ got me put in there in the first place!"

Lauren gave a guilty laugh before an errie song echoed in the room. "Fawkes!" A fiery crimson, orange, and gold bird swept gracefully into view and landed with a soft ruffle of feathers on Lauren's shoulder. He glistened in the light that streamed in a window nearby as the Slytherin scratched his chin.

"Isn't there any way I could have detention in here?" Lauren asked, not taking her eyes off the bird. "I could help you... clean under Fawkes' perch or something. I'm sure it needs it; he's a big bird and with big birds come big piles of --"

"You'd have too much fun petting and talking to Fawkes for it to count as a detention." Rosemary interrupted.

"Hey, whose side are you on, anyways?"

Dumbledore's eyes moved from Lauren to Fawkes and back again. "Are you sure you're up for it, Miss Scutio? Occasionally they'll catch on fire if you don't watch it. I singe my beard all the time that way."

"Really?!" Lauren was once again excited. "I mean, I can really have detention with you today? I didn't mean your beard... Really?"

Rosemary gave Dumbledore a look of disbeleif as he smiled. "I wish _I_ could get these kinds of detentions. But no, I'm always stuck cleaning cauldrons for Professor Slughorn, listening to his horrible singing and old stories... Why does she get all the fun?" For a minute there she had to stop and reanalize that statement.

"He likes me better." Lauren smiled smugly, receiving a quick glare from her Ravenclaw friend.

"Well, at least I don't have to clean piles of flaming bird poop. See you in Potions, Lauren."

"You're more than welcome to stay if you like, Miss DiNozzo, if you can conveniently manage to receive a detention also."

"I can do something other than clean bird poop, right?" She looked towards Dumbledore a bit reluctantly.

"My bookshelf needs reorganizing... If you like, you may do that instead."

"Thank you, Professor!" Rosemary rushed over towards the many shelves all around. Potions was boring enough to get fake detention instead.

"You're actually taking a detention you didn't even deserve? And you're happy about it?"

"What are you talking about? You were happy to be cleaning flaming bird poop."

"For your information, it's not flaming... yet!"

By the end of the day, all of the phoenix poop had been cleaned (Lauren received a few burned fingers in the meantime) and all the books had been reorganized (Rosemary received a few hits to the head by "flying" books for laughing about Lauren's fingers). The two left for the Great Hall a little tired, but glad to have missed not only Potions but double Arithmancy and one class of History of Magic. Two extra seats were made at the Gryffindor table and the girls joined the mass of students who had already begun to eat.

"So, Lauren got detention again." Rosemary said as a few students around them looked over. "Dumbledore let her stay in his office for the millionth time. No surprise there."

"What were you in for this time?" A messy-haired sixth year glanced over, brown eyes dancing in amusement. "Turning Narcissa into a poodle again?"

"Hey," Another boy nearby piped up. "That wasn't funny. How was I supposed to know that was Narcissa?" He gave the first boy an annoyed look from behind the long, dark hair that fell lightly into his face. Two other boys, not to mention Rosemary, got a kick out of this memory jolt as the second boy passed glares around the small group.

"No, I didn't turn Narcissa into a poodle again... although that _was_ hilariously funny. I fell asleep."

"Four times." Rosemary emphasized.

"Wow, four times?" The second boy asked again. "Sprout is really cutting you slack today."

"Or maybe she's just getting tired of sending her to Dumbledore, Sirius." A third boy addressed the second between bites of potatoes.

"Could be, Remus." Lauren said. "So... you guys pull any good pranks today?"

The first boy answered this question. "We managed to sucessfully transfigure a toilet into a tiger today. Now all we have to figure out is how to get Snivellus to go into its stall." Lauren and Rosemary both had to snicker at this.

"You just now figured out how to do the Man-Eating-Toilet hex, James?" Lauren asked jokingly. "I had that one figured out _weeks_ ago."

"So _that's_ what you were doing while you were in detention two weeks ago!" Rosemary laughed, swallowing a bite of green beans. "Did you manage to turn any of those toilet-tigers on Filch?"

"No, they decided he was too much bone and skin and not enough meat. I set them on his fat little cat instead."

Remus coughed in laughter with the rest of the group, looking very pale. Everyone knew well enough not to ask if he was feeling sick. This was normal. "Full moon's tonight." Remus mentioned idly. "You guys up for another run?" He already knew the answer; none of them had to say a thing. After all, they had been doing this same thing for two years now.

"You going to be alright, Moony?" The Ravenclaw's grey-blue eyes shifted from her plate to Remus' colorless face, the same shade as the moon that would be perching itself in the sky in a matter of four or five hours.

"Yeah." He answered softly as everyone grew quiet. "I'll be fine tomorrow." There was an awkward, almost grave silence before everyone started talking again.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II -- Moonlight and Muggleborns

Heavy footfalls rang throughout the forest and stomped the ground flat in their wake as an unusual group of beasts moved through the trees together. In the lead was a wolf; he was quite large, his smokey pelt shimmering in the high moonlight. Not two feet from his thick, tufted tail ran a great stag, tri-pronged antlers spiraling gracefully towards the canopy. Close behind the wolf and deer, a group of canines followed. A large, black dog's canines flashed in the low light; he glanced sideways at a golden Maned she-Wolf whose tongue lolled forth from tawny jowls. Taking up the rear was a light grey she-wolf, her ears back and tail whipping behind her as they all took a turn.

The group passed a pack of gytrashes, who sulked in the tree hollows from the moonlight. Thicket upon thicket was jumped and soon the group found themselves at a rickety shack set precariously on a hill. It looked ready to crumble into dust any day now. Regardless of the dangers, the odd group headed inside one by one.

Up the stairs they walked, hooves and paws echoing in the creaking fortress. The darker wolf, nearly foaming at the mouth after panting so hard from the run, collapsed onto a dusty old cot. He nosed his way underneath a blanket and a few of the other animals lay nearby.

"_Another trip well made._" The stag said aloud, dark brown eyes closing slightly as he came to rest on the dusty floor near the male wolf. There was no reply from the wolf on the cot, nor any sign that the wolf knew the stag was talking.

"_Let's just hope tonight goes okay..._" The grey she-wolf turned her grey-blue eyes towards the stag, her ears turned back, mouth open in a pant. The large black dog nearby grunted in agreement and turned to lick at an itch on his tail.

The golden and tawny she-wolf looked towards the dog. "_Fleas bothering you again, Padfoot?_" Her teeth flashed in amusement.

"_No, Tyra,_" The dog looked her way and stared fixedly. "_I don't have fleas._"

Tyra's muzzle parted and she gave a toothy laugh. "_Ohh, so Breen already gave you your flea bath?_"

"_Flea bath?_" Padfoot asked with a slightly offended growl.

The grey she-wolf looked in Tyra's direction a bit obliviously. "_What?_" Her eyes narrowed slightly, muzzle curling up in kind of an accusing smile as she finally figured it wasn't anything she wanted to get her muzzle into. She knew she probably wouldn't have liked the comment or what was probably going to follow.

Momentarily, both the stag and the grey she-wolf blocked out Padfoot and Tyra's conversation, both with their minds on something. Breen turned, gaze falling on the still form of the wolf beneath the itchy, stiff blanket. She looked towards the stag briefly. "_Hey, Prongs?_"

The stag flicked an ear and looked in her direction. "_Yeah?_"

"_I know it's not likely, but do you figure maybe..._" How could she put this? The she-wolf rose to her feet and approached the cot slowly. "_Do you think he can understand us when he's like this, deep down somewhere?_"

The stag had never really thought about it. He'd always assumed the wolf couldn't, seeing as he didn't remember anything of his time as a wolf when he was human again. "_No, why?_"

"_No reason._" She answered casually before she returned to her spot on the rotting floor. She rested her head on her paws. "_Do you think he feels alone? After all, he's the only one who's got to go through those transformations..._"

"_Why would he be?_" The stag asked with a small snort. He flicked his tail, though it was hard to tell whether it was out of annoyance or nervousness. "_He's got us._"

The wolf closed her eyes before nodding off. "_Half the time I don't think he knows it's us._"

The next morning, Breen and Tyra awoke to the sound of wind howling through the shack. The sun had just begun to peek through the loose boards all around. They stretched, looking around at their friends. Moony had changed back into a human with the rising of the sun, but was still curled beneath the blanket. He was left the cot most of the time; his transformation was painful enough to endure, but sleeping on a hard floor might have made it worse. Some of them, however, could sleep on a hard wood floor and think it a cloud. The two she-wolves glanced over at a certain loud-snoring someone. Padfoot lay on his back, legs in the air, tongue hanging out.

"_Is he alright? He looks kinda... dead._" Breen commented to Tyra. There came a snore fit to wake the dead, but the only one that made any kind of motion was Prongs; he flicked an ear as if to shoo away a fly.

"_They could sleep through anything._" Tyra's nose wrinkled a little as she spoke loudly. Still no stirring from the animals nearby. "_I bet they wouldn't even know if we were talking about Sirius and his FLEAS!_" At the word 'fleas', the black dog jerked his head upward. An ear lay turned inside out, the other one half-covering his eye.

"_Whuzz youtalkin bout my fleas for?_" He asked groggily, fangs revealed as he struggled to right himself properly and straighten out his ears.

"_You were dreaming again._" Tyra laughed, tail wagging slightly. In a matter of seconds she morphed until a sleepy-looking Lauren sat in her place. "Nobody was talking about your fleas... But I'm glad you finally admit it." The dog gave a growl and stretched his legs.

There came a snort of a laugh from Breen, who sat nearby. An amused look gleamed in her eyes, but was soon apparent on her face when she, too, changed back into her true form.

Padfoot grumbled softly to himself in Dog as he struggled to resist the urge to scratch again. His right hind leg began to kick with urgency at the persisting itch, so he followed the girls' examples and changed quickly into his human form. "I'll be right back," He said gruffly. "I've gotta go."

"Yeah, you've gotta go alright." Lauren called after him as he walked briskly down the stairs. "Gotta go scratch those fleas of yours!"

As the girls' laughter subsided, a groggy groan sounded from nearby. Remus had turned to face them on the cot. Sitting up, he rubbed his face with his hands. "Morning." He said, still partially trying to wake himself up. "I feel like I just ran a marathon. Anything interesting happen last night?"

"We _did_ take a run..." Lauren raised her eyebrows ever so slightly.

Remus laughed lightly. "That would explain why I feel to so sore."

"Nothing much else happened." Rosemary shook her head. "It was murder trying to keep up with you, though."

With that, Sirius re-entered the room and Prongs began to stir. The young stag gracefully got to his feet and nodded to each student in turn. He, too, stepped down the stairs with a clatter of hooves on wood. Within a few minutes, James appeared, trying to smooth down his messy hair as he approached the small group. "Anyone got a comb?" He asked. None of them did. "We ought to be on our way, then. Don't want anyone becoming suspicious of our absence."

"Since when are you concerned about being found out?" Sirius asked James as they headed through Hogsmead towards the castle.

"Since Miss Evans has started lightening up on him." Remus said, a hint of amusement in his tone. "He reckons she fancies him, I guess."

Sirius scoffed and gave James a half-smile. James stood proudly, taking a moment to ruffle his hair again. "You really think that's why she hasn't been as hostile towards you," Sirius asked.

It was Lauren's turn to say something. "I think she's just too tired to bother anymore. After all, how many years have you been after her?" Her eyebrows raised as she awaited the answer.

"Try since first year." Sirius laughed, the tiniest bit of sarcasm in his voice. "Ever since he saw those sparkling emerald eyes on the train, framed by that fiery red hair she's somehow managed to tame, he hasn't taken his eyes off her."

James gave Sirius a slightly smug look. "You reckon she really does fancy me?"

"Sure," Lauren answered sarcastically. "After all, who could resist all that blatant arrogance, not to mention those amazing Quidditch skills."

"You have to admit, though," Rosemary looked to Lauren. "His arrogance _has_ faded ever so slightly. Not much, but still..."

As they approached the entrance to Hogwarts, James caught sight of a bright red beacon heading their way. He waved in the student's direction. It was obvious that she hadn't noticed him until just then because she suddenly hurried in the opposite direction, behind some bushes. It wasn't a good enough hiding spot, however.

"Good morning, Lily." James said with a flourish. "How fortunate to see your beautiful face on such a day."

"What do you want, Potter?" Lily asked, her tone not quite as annoyed as the look she tried to keep on her face. She appeared quickly from behind the bush to face James and his friends.

"Just a simple 'good morning' to make my day complete." He was really laying it on thick this time.

Lily gathered up her books and stared at him a moment. The corners of her mouth curved upwards ever so slightly for a few seconds before she returned to the usual look she gave him. "Good morning, James." Without another word, Lily turned and walked off to join a group of fellow Gryffindor girls not far off.

"Wow." Sirius watched as she went before turning back to James. "I think you're right, Prongs. She _never_ calls you James."

Remus suddenly had a worried look on his face. "Scary."

"I think you've got a pretty good chance," Rosemary turned towards James. "She nearly smiled there for a minute. That's a good sign, I'd say."

Lauren agreed. "Just don't go getting arrogant about it again. You might scare her off."

For the rest of the day, James looked as though he was about to burst with pride. In Potions he thought he caught her looking his way. When confronted about it, she claimed that she was looking for one of her friends. James pointed out that all of her friends were standing nearby her the whole time and were not anywhere in his direction (he would know; he hardly took his own eyes off of her to do the lesson). She tried making it sound as though she thought he was one of them; he hardly looked masculine, she said.

Even this didn't put a damper on his mood. He knew the truth, and she couldn't tell him anything otherwise. His overly chipper air was starting to make three of his friends a bit worried, and annoyed a certain Slytherin among them. He hardly stopped to prank an innocent first year or give a Slytherin some snide remark.

"I'm worried about you, mate." Sirius pulled James off to the side of a hallway as they passed towards the Great Hall that night for dinner. "This could jeopardize our whole operation as Marauders."

James scoffed. "I haven't felt so alive since she returned my mistletoe last year and I stole a kiss before she could do anything." Much to Lily's dismay.

"Yeah, but you also haven't taken a lick of time to do anything Marauder-like since this morning. Snivellus nearly tripped you after Potions for crying out loud and you didn't do a single thing about it!"

"Look, nothing is going to happen if Lily and I start going out." James answered. "We'll still go on our runs and prank everything in sight. It'll be alright, you'll see." With that James proceeded towards the Great Hall in a cloud of merry thoughts.

Sirius turned towards Remus, Lauren, and Rosemary who were standing nearby, listening to the whole talk. "If this is affecting him this badly, I'm afraid we may have to do something about it."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III -- Plotting

A month came and went, and the Marauders found themselves pranking a bit less without James' usual brilliant planning. Everything usually ended in him sweeping Lily off her feet and becoming the hero of the evening. Although they all went along with it, the others had become a bit annoyed at Lily's presence, which was a first. Over time she objected to James being around less and less, so he stuck with her more and more. As the full moon neared, Sirius finally came up with a brilliant plan of how to get some time to think of the real plan, but he needed all three of the others to pull it off.

"Since you're Head Boy, you really ought to start thinking about sticking with your duties. It'll only be every other full moon." Sirius' silver-blue eyes were fixed on James, who sat stubbornly on a squishy armchair in the Gryffindor common room.

"Since when do you start actually thinking about duties?" James scoffed. "And you say _I'm_ the one who's being un-Marauder-like."

"All I'm trying to say is that if you don't keep to your duties as Head Boy, someone might start wondering about where we all go every full moon. We may get found out, and then Moony'd get expelled and the rest of us would have detention for the rest of our lives. We're unregistered, Prongs." Sirius hushed his voice. "You know what the Ministry would do to us if they knew?"

James adjusted his glasses and leaned back in the chair, putting his feet up on a table. "Dumbledore would get it all sorted out."

"Maybe, but we haven't exactly been on his good list since first year." Sirius hoped this would convice him to stay behind, at least this once. "Just think, Lily's Head Girl. That means you'd be having to patrol the halls and do whatever else Head Boys and Girls do -- _together_."

James looked up, interested, but had second thoughts. "But are you sure Remus---"

"I'm okay with it." Remus appeared on the stairs not too far off. He looked as though he had the flu; his skin was once again pale and his eyes shone with almost a yellow light. He looked tired, though he had woken up not long ago. "I don't mind if you stay this time."

Before James could say anything more, the three boys heard something outside the common room. There were a few quick footsteps on stone, then a familiar voice asking about a password. A password was given, but the portrait hole didn't swing open. The Fat Lady's voice sounded a bit questioning before a female voice began to shout. It sounded mad; very mad. The Fat Lady's voice rose, and for a moment there was the loud sound of arguing. Then, all of a sudden, the portrait hole swung open and in stepped a flustered-looking Lauren, followed by Rosemary, who had a slight surprised look on her face. The boys seemed to share Rosemary's surprise.

"She wouldn't let us in because I'm a Slytherin and Rosemary's a Ravenclaw." Lauren sat violently down on the crimson sofa next to Sirius. Rosemary sat beside her. "Said something about me planning to murder the Gryffindors or something." Lauren shot a death glare at the back of the portrait. "I'll show _her_ a murder."

"How did you get her to open the portrait hole?" James asked.

"I told her I'd tell Dumbledore and he'd let that foolish old knight have her job instead." Lauren grinned triumphantly. "I also happened to mention that her portrait would look lovely above the fireplace in the Slytherin dungeons."

"I didn't think she'd actually let us in this time without you guys there." Rosemary commented with a laugh, sweeping a lock of dirty blonde hair behind her ear. "I guess now we know how to get in next time you guys aren't with us. What's going on?" She asked as she noticed James' annoyed look.

"Apparently, I've got to stay here and take care of Head Boy duties tonight so we won't get found out."

"You're okay with that?" The Ravenclaw's eyebrows raised a little.

James grumbled and shifted in his seat. "Yeah, I guess. I'll come next time. Just don't have any fun without me. If anyone gets killed, I want to know."

Sirius smiled. "Glad we could come to an agreement. If anyone's killed, you'll be the first person to know."

Brown eyes narrowed slightly, but it was hard to keep a smile off his face. "Yeah, well just be glad Lily's Head Girl. Otherwise, I'd never agree to this."

Remus moved towards an empty armchair nearby, wincing as he went. He was beginning to grow sore, a sign that he would be transforming within an hour. His eyes shifted towards the window not far off. The sun was setting; he could tell by the changing colors of the sky.

"We might want to get a move on soon." He commented nonchalantly. "I'm starting to feel it coming on."

Everyone but James began to move, standing up and shifting in their spots, trying to remember everything they'd need to take with them. James' Invisibility Cloak? That could stay. The Marauders' Map? They'd bring it just in case. Wands? Might be a good idea to take those along. Within minutes, everyone was packed up and ready for the trip to the Shreiking Shack. They said their goodbyes to James, whose answering goodbyes sounded a little dull, but the others weren't concerned.

Outside, the small group made their way towards the Whomping Willow, careful to avoid the usual spots that Prefects were found roaming. With each minute, Remus found himself in more and more pain, nearly doubled over by the time they made it to the knot on the great tree. Sirius, Lauren, and Rosemary had transformed quickly into their animagus forms (which, coincidentally, were all canine). Looks like it'd be a Dog's Night Out tonight.

Padfoot gently pushed the knot on the tree with a forepaw, causing the branches to slow and trunk to relax with a creaky groan. Through the newly-revealed tunnel the three canines went, followed by Remus.

It was a difficult trek to the shack for Remus. Padfoot led the way and Tyra took up the rear to make sure Remus didn't bolt in either direction when he transformed. Breen walked at his side, but lagged a little, watching him better. She'd let either of the other two know if she saw anything start to happen. Remus stretched out a shaky hand to pat Breen's head; she whined slightly, tail wagging slowly. They'd all make it there safely, she told herself.

The quartet eventually made it to the shack. Moonlight streamed in through the boards, lighting up Remus' scarred face. He grimaced as they moved up the stairs, but his pace had slowed nearly to a stop. Padfoot had to nudge him along just so he would make an effort to move upstairs, where it was safe. When he reached his cot, Remus pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket and handed it to Padfoot, who tried not to drool on it too much. The dog set in on the floor nearby, recognizing it as the Map.

Remus settled into a corner nearby, eyes turning from the canines around him. They watched him breifly before settling themselves. He hated that they had to be something other than human to be safe from him. He could not talk to them tonight; he would't understand them either way. The sixth year shuddered as he could feel his body changing. Some bones stretched as others shrank, and he let out a pained yell. The canines shifted nervously. Padfoot looked away, and one of the she-wolves whined loudly. There were a few cracks and more painful noises from his direction. In a matter of ten or fifteen minutes Remus lay slumped in the corner, no longer a human, but a wolf. He was still; very still. It was likely he fell asleep from exhaustion, which was not ucommon. Padfoot glanced over at the still, furred form and moved a bit closer to it before beginning to talk.

"_What are we going to do about James?_" His voice was soft, and sounded a bit awkward after what had just happened. Breen's eyes shifted towards the wolf in the corner before returning to Padfoot.

"_Moony will be okay._" Tyra's jaws parted in a semi-pant as she glanced sideways towards Breen. It was hard to tell whether she was talking to Breen or reassuring herself.

Breen looked down at her paws. "_Maybe we can trick him or something. James, that is._"

Padfoot flopped over onto his side. "_Yeah, but how? We can't tell him she secretly hates him. He'd just confront her about it, she'd tell him it's not the truth, and then they'd make up and go out and we'd lose a valuable member of our team._"

"_You make it sound like we're some secret agency or something._" Tyra gave a bark-like laugh.

"_Yeah, and it's not like two of us actually help out in the prank-pulling..._"

Breen received a slight growl from Tyra for this. "_Hey, I help out when I can._"

"_Yeah,_" the grey she-wolf snorted. "_But why am I here?_"

"_Because you're with me._" Tyra licked her right forepaw. "_I don't know. Why do you ask such stupid questions? You're here, aren't you?_"

"_Yeah..._" Breen answered a bit slowly. "_Well, since I'm here I might as well contribute my part. I'll think of something._"

Padfoot sighed heavily. "_I half wish Remus wasn't like this right now. We might be able to get a good plan from him._"

As if hearing his own name, the werewolf began to stir, sitting up in his spot in the corner. The golden eyes that searched the room were human, but his mind was all wolf. Padfoot looked over for some sort of sign, but none was given. The wolf simply leaned into the corner, his eyes closing for a moment. Breen and Tyra rose to their feet and moved a little closer, as if to comfort the wolf.

"_What about it, Remus?_" Padfoot kept his eyes on the wolf. "_You got any brilliant plan to help us out?_" There was no answer, just a whine from the wolf, who opened his eyes and looked in the dog's direction. "_I didn't think so._" The dog closed his eyes in thought.

"_Maybe we can lure her here..._" Breen suggested nonchalantly.

Tyra turned, surprised, towards the grey she-wolf. "_Are you crazy? He'd kill her!_"

"_Or just turn her into a werewolf._" The black dog sat up and began to scratch his left ear. This time, there were no flea jokes. There was a plan to be hatched. "_Then we'd have her on these escapades, too, and Gryffindor would be out both Head Boy _and _Head Girl._"

"_Maybe we just let them do their thing._" Tyra suggested. "_If they go out, he's bound to calm down about it all in about a week. You said it yourself, Breen. His head's deflating and he's starting to mature. Not by much, but still._"

Hearing such odd noises, the wolf stood and stepped over to the three other canines. He settled between Padfoot and Breen, listening to the noise of their talking. Moony seemed almost fascinated for a moment. Never before had this much talking occured here. It almost excited him, and he began to gnaw at his front paw. Padfoot looked up at him for a moment, trying to decide if he should do anything. After all, Remus would probably appreciate the prevention of another injury in the morning, self-inflicted or not. Breen touched her nose gently to the wolf's cheekfur. The wolf stood up again and headed for the stairs. They all knew what he wanted now, and were up in a heartbeat to follow him.

Outside, the trio walked quickly towards the Forbidden Forest, trying to keep up with the eager wolf that led them. They thought for a while that he wanted a quick run in the forest to get his restlessness out, but as he turned towards the Hogwarts grounds, his intentions were clear. He wanted to hunt, but not simple game in the forest.

The three canines tried to stop the wolf before he got too close to the forest edge, but Moony was persistant. He growled a couple of times at them, and, not wanting to risk injury unless they had to, they moved from his way. But then he decided to move too close towards the usual post of a Hufflepuff Prefect. They had to do something. He _would_ decide to hunt a human when Prongs wasn't there to help stop him...

Padfoot stepped out into the open, barring the wolf's path. The wolf's lips curled upwards in a warning snarl, but the dog stayed firm. Padfoot revealed his fangs only momentarily to show that he meant business and tried nudging the wolf back towards the forest. For a moment, Moony looked as though he was heading back, but then he bolted for the castle. In a heartbeat, the dog and the she-wolves were all over him. Tyra slid in front of him where Padfoot was and nipped at his paws, urging him back into the forest. Breen whined excitedly and looked into the forest behind her, as though she had seen a human there. Maybe tricking him would work...

Reluctantly the wolf turned back towards the trees. He lifted his nose to the wind and caught the faint scent of a human in the direction of the shack. He wasn't quite human enough, however, to figure that it was his own human scent he was smelling. With a flash of teeth, he was off towards the shack, until a hare caught his eye darting across the path. For a moment, Padfoot thought he was heading for the castle again. The dog leapt to cut the wolf off, but Moony was intent on having his hare. He bowled the dog over and snarled visciously what seemed to be "_MY__ HARE_!" before returning to his hunt.

Padfoot lay there a moment as the wolf's jaws snapped around the small hare. It let out a dying squeal before he set it down on the ground. The dog struggled to regain the breath that the wolf had knocked out of him and righted himself. He stepped carefully towards the wolves nearby. In almost a paranoid manner, the wolf's hackles raised and he rushed the dog, teeth closing around Padfoot's shoulder. This sent Padfoot once more to the ground, and once more the wolf snarled, the hare's blood dripping onto the dog's nose as he did.

Padfoot shuddered and licked the blood from his nose as he got to his feet for a third time. This time, he was careful to give the wolf a wide berth. Sensing the movement of the dog, and now the two she-wolves, Moony snatched up his mutilated hare and headed for the shack again.

Inside and up the stairs, Moony set the prize on the cot, blood soaking into the blanket slightly. The other three knew Remus would probably be a little reluctant to sleep there anymore now that it was going to be stained with blood from a hare, but none of them dared move it for fear of being attacked.

Padfoot licked his torn shoulder gingerly. He knew it wasn't Moony's fault. Moony was just reacting to his wolf instincts, and saw the dog as a potential threat to his kill. Better a hare as a kill than a human, Padfoot figured. Or a dog, for that matter. As the pain in his shoulder subsided, the dog set his head on the floor and closed his silver-blue eyes. Before he knew it, morning had come once again.

When Remus awoke, he was not surprised at how refreshed he felt, despite his slight aches. He knew, at least, that this time they had not run a marathon like last month. He rubbed his eyes and leaned back on the wall behind him. Looking down, he saw the blood on the blanket and nearly fell off the cot.

"What's this from? Did I get hurt last night or something?" Remus asked the nearby girls surprisedly, feeling for a non-existant wound. "And why do I taste blood in my mouth?"

"You didn't get hurt last night, Remus, but I did." Sirius appeared from somewhere downstairs. He set his hand gently on his own shoulder.

Remus' face fell. "I--I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--"

"I know." Sirius answered quickly. "It's no big deal, I just shouldn't have gotten in your way."

"My... way?" Remus asked, a bit puzzled.

Sirius stepped over and said casually, "Yeah. I got too close to you and your kill."

At the word 'kill', Remus looked almost devistated. Had his worst fears been realized? Had he actually killed someone? He was beginning to feel sick to his stomach...

Sirius tossed something small into Remus' lap. It was the hare. Remus' stomach turned even more at the mangled fur, torn flesh, and exposed bones. There was his answer for the taste of blood in his mouth earlier. "I... I actually ate some of this?"

Sirius shrugged. "You said it yourself once. You can't control what you do as a wolf." Remus picked up the hare and stared at it a while.

"You're not going to eat it again, are you?" Lauren asked, a bit disgusted at the sight.

"No!" Remus gave her almost a horrified look. "And I'm certainly not leaving it in here. It'll rot before next month, and for all I know I may end up eating that when I transform... Imagine having to explain _that_ one to Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing." The girls laughed before Remus continued. "We'll bury it outside."

"You'll just dig it up." Sirius said.

Remus frowned. "Okay, then, _you_ eat it."

"Just leave it in the Forbidden Forest," Rosemary suggested. "Some other animal will get it later."

There was only a moment of silence before Rosemary spoke again. "Ohh! I had this really weird dream -- well, _all_ my dreams are weird, but anyway -- in this dream we were all in the Gryffindor common room and we were all in swimsuits--"

"Swimsuits?" Sirius aked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Hush and let me finish!" Rosemary waved her hand annoyedly. "As I was saying, we were all in our swimsuits, playing Go Fish, and there was something up with James. He kept saying things outright... embarassing things. Then, all of a sudden, we were in the Shack, and Moony wasn't a werewolf anymore; he hadn't been bitten at all. And then I woke up."

The three students stared at her, their faces showing what everyone was thinking: "Huh?"

"Yeah, you're not making any sense here, Rosemary." Lauren patted the Ravenclaw's back.

"No, no..." Remus frowned thoughtfully. "I think you may have something here." Sirius and Lauren continued to stare; they hadn't gotten it yet. "I think in your dream, James was under the influence of--"

"Alcohol?" Lauren suggested. "Lord knows that stuff does some weird stuff to you."

"No," The blonde boy looked to Lauren. "I think it was a Truth Serum."

A lightbulb clicked on in Sirius' brain. "Truth Serum? Like Veritaserum?"

"Exactly." Remus smiled. "I think, if we could get ahold of some of that Truth Serum and get James to drink it, he'll spill everything to Lily and she wouldn't like him anymore. All of his tricks, all of the things he's said about her, all of the things he's said about everything she's ever cared about in the world..."

"And where we go every full moon." The black-haired Gryffindor scowled.

"Yeah, that could be a problem." Remus admitted.

Lauren decided to join in. "Yeah, but we'd have to be willing to take that risk. At least then we'd have a backup plan."

"What would that be?" The werewolf inquired.

"Bring her here and turn her into a werewolf. Then, if she told, she'd get expelled, too. That's not something she'd be willing to do, I think."

"Sounds good to me." Rosemary grinned. "Now where are we going to get this Veritaserum? Slughorn might have some, right?"

"Yes," Remus scratched his chin thoughtfully. "But the question is: how do we get it from him? And if it turns out he _doesn't_ have any, he'd have the ingredients, but we still have the problem of getting him to hand them over."

"We could always just get him drunk," Lauren suggested.

"What is it with you and alcohol?" Sirius asked, receiving a slap to the back of his head in return. He shot an insulted look at the Slytherin, who gave a smug look back.

"Where would we get the alcohol?" Remus asked, ignoring the little bout between his friends. "Madam Rosemerta might have some, but how would we get that past her?"

"Borrow James' Invisibility Cloak?" Rosemary suggested.

"Ohh, that's sneaky." Lauren laughed. "Using his own cloak in a plot against him. Now there's just the question of how to get Slughorn drunk. After all, he _does_ drink all those fancy wines... We'd have to use something with a high proof... 190 should do. That's about 95 percent pure alcohol."

Sirius' eyebrows raised. "I'm not even going to ask."

"Gentlemen," Remus adressed the others. "And ladies, of course," He added after receiving a pair of glares. "I think we have our plan."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter IV -- Veritaserum

"One pint o' Butterbeer, comin' right up!" Madam Rosemerta's voice rang loudly through the pub in Hogsmead. The door swung open, letting in a gust of freezing wind, along with an unseen guest. Everybody around seemed too tired, cold, or drunk to notice. Through the smoke-filled pub a particularly quiet Sirius stepped, clad in the Invisibility Cloak he nicked from James' trunk. He walked as silently as possible towards the back room, careful not to bump the pleasant barmaid. The walls were lined with bottles upon bottles. He searched for one that had the highest number on it. Wait, 1254? Was that the date or the proof? He grabbed the bottle anyways, hoping it was the right stuff.

Just then, Madam Rosemerta stepped into the room. Sirius held his breath and ducked as she reached over for a bottle just above his head. He let out a sigh of releif when she exited the room carying a bottle of sherry.

"Great job, Padfoot." Remus grabbed the bottle from Sirius as they stepped around a corner, into the shadows. He tucked it into a pocket in his robes, hidden inside the Invisibility Cloak. The quartet headed back for Hogwarts Castle.

"Okay, so does everyone understand what you're supposed to do?" Sirius, Lauren, and Rosemary nodded as Remus went over the plan.

"Rosemary, you and Lauren go into Slughorn's office with the bottle and appologize for missing Potions. Tell him that you had to go to Dumbledore because of someone fed gillyweed to your owl and it was dying or something. Tell him Dumbledore said to drop this by Slughorn as a sort of apology. He'll beleive that."

Rosemary gave Remus a sort of hurt look before the boy continued.

"Then, when you're telling him the details, he'll pour himself a few glasses of this stuff, perhaps a few too many. When he starts singing songs and acting drunk, act as though you're listening to every detail and keep him talking while Lauren sneaks into the potions cabinet."

Remus looked to Lauren this time. "Once inside the cabinet, look for a small vial marked "Veritaserum" or "Truth Potion" or something of the like. It'll be a clear liquid, possibly only about an ounce or two's worth. We don't need a lot of it for our plan to work. Put a little in this vial and be sure to return the original vial to it's correct spot. He's got that thing alphabetized, color-coordinated, and sorted in the Dewy-decimal system three times over. He'll know if it's even in the wrong spot."

Lauren took the small, circular vial from her fellow sixth year.

"Now be sure not to ingest any of it in _any way_. Don't even drop any on your skin. We don't want you blabbing our plans to Slughorn or James or anyone else before we've already gone through with everything. When that's done, report back to me in the sixth year Boy's Dormitory. I'll make sure that it's empty."

"But I thought only boys were allowed in there." Rosemary pointed out. "Don't the stairs turn into a slide or something?"

"Ahh, there's a catch to that rule." Sirius piped up. "It's only when boys try to go into the Girls' Dormitories that the stairs turn into a slide. Girls are more 'trustworthy' or some rubbish like that. Trust me, through the years we've learned that one the hard way."

"Okay, so does everyone know what they're supposed to do?" Remus looked around at the three other faces.

"Yeah."

"Yup."

"Wait, what am I supposed to do?" Sirius asked.

Remus shrugged. "Sit back and watch?"

Sirius scowled. "That's no fun."

"Fine, Pouty-Puss. You can do James' interrogation when Lily's with us." Remus sighed heavily. "I'm fine with just doing the planning." Sirius' face brightened. "One more time, now: Does everyone know what they're doing?"

The answers were all "Yes."

"Okay, then, let's be off."

Lauren took the bottle and entered Professor Slughorn's office with Rosemary close behind. The stout man looked up at the girls from behind a pair of reading glasses. "Good morning, girls. I'm sorry, but class was at seven this morning."

"Yes, we know, Professor." Rosemary said politely. "We just wanted to say that we're sorry we missed potions this morning. My owl, Moonface, he..." All of a sudden, tears began to well in her eyes. "He-- I'm sorry, Professor." She turned from him and began to dry her eyes. Lauren gave her a sympathetic look before turning to Slughorn.

"Someone fed her owl gillyweed this morning. He couldn't breath; we had to rush him to Madam Pomfrey. She said he might not make it."

Rosemary burst loudly into tears.

"I'm sorry, sir. She's deathly attached to him."

Slughorn looked tenderly at Rosemary and waved her over to a seat nearby. "Here, girl. Take a seat. Go ahead and cry if you need to, I won't laugh." Shakily, she sat in a comfortable armchair nearby.

"Professor," Lauren took the bottle from inside her robes and set it on his desk. Immediatelly she saw Slughorn's face light up. "The Headmaster asked if we could deliver this to you for him for our absence this morning."

In a flash, Slughorn took the bottle and examined it, muttering things to himself. "Will you go into that cabinet there, dear," He motioned nearby. "And bring me that glass. No, no, the bigger one... That's a girl." The man popped off the cap and poured a great ammount into the glass Lauren placed in his hand.

"I would offer you some, my dear, but I'm afraid I'd get another less pleasant gift from Professor Dumbledore; a one-way trip out of the castle." Slughorn laughed heartily as Rosemary peered out from behind a soaked sleeve. She tried to smile as he began to down glass after glass like a great, dehydrated walrus that hadn't seen the sea in months. Within no time, he was singing one of his old pub songs and trying to get Rosemary to join in. She didn't know the words so she made some up, but he didn't seem to notice.

Lauren slipped off towards a large cabinet marked "Students -- Keep Out". She opened it gently; the man didn't even notice. He was caught somewhere between laughing and crying. The Ravenclaw gave the Slytherin a look that said, "HURRY UP! Don't leave me here with this guy any longer than I have to be!" Lauren searched the cabinet for a clear liquid. In no time she found it. She quickly poured a small ammount into the vial Remus had given her. A single drop fell onto her arm and, without thinking, she licked it off. The girl then proceeded to replace the vial marked "Veritaserum" to its proper place.

"Thank you, Professor. You've really helped me cheer up." Rosemary said with a smile, wiping the last of her tears from her eyes as Lauren gave her the thumbs-up.

"Glad I could help." He slurred. "Let me know how everything turns out for your aunt."

"Err, owl."

"That's what I said. Your aunt."

Rosemary shook her head as she and Lauren exited the office. Outside, Lauren handed Remus the tiny vial.

"Great," Remus exclaimed as they headed for the Gryffindor common room. "We've got more than enough now."

Once inside the common room, they proceeded up the stairs to the sixth year Boy's Dormitory. Lauren, Rosemary, Sirius, and Remus all took seats on random trunks as they began to talk of what came next in the plan.

"Okay, so now we have the Veritaserum. How did it go with Slughorn? I could hear crying from outside." Remus looked to the girls for answers.

"I told him that Rosemary's owl was fed some gillyweed, like you said."

"And I turned on the waterworks, and he began to drink. A lot. He quite liked whatever it was we gave him." Rosemary smiled.

"So, what are we going to do next, Remus?" Sirius asked. Before Remus could answer, Lauren began to talk. But it wasn't about the plan at all.

"You know, you have very pretty eyes." She was looking at Sirius the whole time.

"Errm, thanks." He gave her a weird look. "How often do you look that intently at my eyes?"

"All the time, actually." Lauren suddenly looked as though she couldn't control what she was saying. "Well, when I'm not staring at that hot tail of yours." She clapped her hands over her mouth.

Sirius' face had a look of mingled "Oh, my God, am I really hearing this?" and "_Really_, now"

"What are you doing, Lauren?" Rosemary raised an eyebrow.

"I -- I don't know." Lauren looked a bit horrified.

"So, Lauren..." Sirius was having fun with this. "Do I turn you on?"

Lauren couldn't help but answer. "Yes, you do!"

"Fleas and all?"

"I'll fight your fleas over you." The Slytherin's eyes looked as though they were tearing up.

"So, would you like to--"

"Sirius!" Rosemary stopped him before this went any further. "Quit asking her questions!"

Sirius grinned devilishly. "But, I want to know what she _really_ thinks of me..."

"Lauren," Remus snapped out of his complete shock. "Did you get any of the Veritaserum?"

"Yes, I think." Lauren racked her mind. "I might have spilled a drop on myself earlier. I don't really remember."

"Okay, now that we've got that established..." Sirius smirked, eyes locked on the Slytherin. "Would you like to--"

"SIRIUS!" Rosemary growled. "For the last time, quit asking her questions! I think she's embarassed herself enough already!"

Sirius folded his arms and leaned back on his trunk, a scowl on his handsome face. He didn't say another word, but his mind began to create all sorts of things after what he had just found out.

Remus tried not to look amused at the fact that Sirius just got scolded by a girl, and a younger one at that. "If you only got a drop, the effects should wear off in about an hour. Until then, we can't continue with our plan. We don't want anything getting out that hasn't already been said, do we?" Lauren nodded her head vigorously.

Remus headed downstairs to continue planning, leaving the three by themselves. Sirius saw his opportunity and began to whisper more questions to Lauren. She looked as though she was trying with all her might to keep the answers inside, but it wasn't working very well.

"I'm leaving before I find out something else I really don't want to know. I'll be in the Great Hall for lunch if you guys decide to join the rest of the world." With that the Ravenclaw, too, went downstairs.

Downstairs, Rosemary passed Remus, who sat scrunched in a great crimson armchair, scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment. His brow furrowed and he unconsciously gnawed at the end of his quill, deep in thought.

"I'm off to lunch. You coming?"

He didn't look up but answered destractedly. "I'll be there in a little while. Is Sirius still asking Lauren questions?"

Her face twisted into a look somewhere between amusement and disgust. "Yeah."

Remus tried to hide a half grin as he finally stopped his scratching away and looked in the Ravenclaw's direction. "He'll either get bored of this game, or the effects of the Veritaserum will wear off... or she'll just pulverize him. Either way, they shouldn't be too much longer. I'm just going to finish up these last couple of ideas and then I'll be there. I need to wash down that hare again. I think I feel it trying to jump back out."

Rosemary grimaced. "With the way you completely mutilated that thing, I don't think it's going to be jumping anywhere anymore." With a laugh, she said her goodbyes and headed for the Great Hall alone.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V -- The Fur Flies

Inside the Great Hall, Rosemary's eyes scanned the scene. Quite a few people were already inside, eating sandwiches, chips, and snack cakes of all sorts. The very air was alive with excitement at the coming of the first Quidditch tournament of the year: Slytherin vs Hufflepuff. Everywhere students wore badges and buttons and had all sorts of banners promoting their house. Many of the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were already preparing for their own houses' big match that would occur next week.

"Oi! DiNozzo!" A familiar face waved her over to her normal spot at the Gryffindor table. Although she and Lauren were both from completely different houses, not to mention different houses from the one they most often visited, most of the Gryffindors knew them, or at least saw that they were no real threat. The girls were welcomed at this table, just as though they had never been sorted into any other house. Anyone who did object to them sitting in a strange place was quickly silenced by their... helpful friends.

"Where have you guys been?" The voice asked again as Rosemary took her seat. "I've been waiting all morning."

Rosemary gave a grin as she turned towards James. He wore a questioned look on his face, but his eyes showed that he was clearly in a good mood despite his friends' absence. James looked almost refreshed compared to how she and the others looked.

"Sirius had an... accident with Moony last night." She hushed her voice and leaned so that he could hear her. "Moony kind of... bit him. We've been at the Hospital Wing all morning. The others sent me here to see if you were here and to let you know that we made it back safely. For the most part." It was surprising how well she had learned to lie from these boys, not to mention Lauren!

James grunted in understanding. "How is he?" He asked as another familiar face came into view.

"He's doing good, considering the circumstances." The blonde looked up towards Remus, who had stepped over not long before. "Lauren's been... keeping his mind off his shoulder."

Remus took his seat, a slightly amused look sent in Rosemary's direction. James didn't quite catch it before it faded quickly into the casual look Remus played off so well when keeping his friends out of trouble with "authority".

A sudden smug grin spread over James' face and his hand ruffled his hair a moment, causing him to achieve that signature windswept "just-stepped-off-my-broom-after-winning-the-Quidditch-World-Cup" look. "Guess what?" He hardly waited for the other two to answer. "I asked Miss Evans out while you guys were out this morning. Guess what she said!"

"No? Again?" Rosemary smirked jokingly, receiving a short glare from James.

"Nope. Any other guesses?" He looked down the table towards the fiery redhead, who looked his way and smiled slightly.

Rosemary guessed again. "Never in a million years? Go ask the Giant Squid? Not even if you and Snape were the last guys on earth?" She decided she'd stop before she got herself on the receiving end of a nasty hex.

"She said yes!"

"Now that you've finally achieved your life-long goal, what do you plan to do with yourself?" Sirius appeared, as if out of nowhere, from somewhere behind Remus. He wore a smirk, trademark of the Marauders, eyes slightly narrowed in the amusement that was Sirius himself. Lauren stood beside him, an annoyed look on her face. They took their seats in turn.

James looked over at Sirius, but before he could answer, Lauren turned quickly and rammed her fist into Sirius' arm as hard as she could.

"Ahhh! What was _that_ for? I just asked him what he was going to do now!" He rubbed his arm, holding his shoulder. His face contorted in pain he turned towards her.

"That's for earlier." She wore a smug look as she studied him a moment. The look faded as he continued to hold his shoulder gingerly. "Did-- was that your--" Her face bore a look of shock as she stumbled over her words.

"Yes," Sirius hissed. "That was the arm I hurt!" He moved away from her a little, wearing a frown.

"I'm sorry!" Lauren apologized quickly. She reached out to comfort him.

"Don't touch it!" He growled, moving quickly away.

Before anyone could say anything more, a chorus of hoots and whistles filled the air as a hundred owls of all shapes and sizes poured into the Great Hall.

"Here's the mail, it never fails, it make me want to wag my tail," Lauren began to sing. "When it comes I want to wail: MAIL!"

The others stopped and turned in unison to look at the Slytherin. Even Sirius took the time to stop holding his arm and give her a look that said, "What the...?" Rosemary was the only one who got it, and she immediatelly burst into laughter.

"It's a Muggle thing." Lauren explained with a shrug as the owls circled overhead, looking for the receivers of their packages. As they finished their rounds and everyone who had gotten a package or letter of some sort had their mail dropped from overhead, a large Great Horned Owl flapped into view. It carried a box, flying in a ragged line towards the Gryffindor table. With a crash, it landed in front of the group, taking a moment to stand there, wheezing. As slowly as it had come the owl leapt into the air with a flap if its great wings and was off for the owlry. Lauren reached for the box in front of her, looking at a tag on the side.

"It's for you, Sirius. It says it's from your mother." She pushed the box towards him. It was a large box, and it was a surprise that the owl even managed to carry it. There were six holes on each side of the box, and it looked as though it might hold something dangerous.

Carefully Sirius opened the box.

Everyone jumped when out jumped a cat. It looked around suspiciously with two great orange lamp-like eyes. Immediatelly Sirius' lips curled up in a snarl. His eyes narrowed, locking on to the siamese.

"Your mother got you a cat?" James laughed.

"She knows I hate cats!" Sirius growled viciously. His gift's hackles raised and it looked as though Sirius was going to raise a set of hackles himself. The cat hissed, scrunching itself on the table.

James leaned close to the time-bomb of fur. "BOO!"

The cat freaked out, tearing down the table, over plates and cups, startling students all down the row. It flew out the open doors and up the stairs of the Grand Staircase. Sirius, who had long forgotten about Lauren's punch to his arm, sat with a furious look on his face. "She knows I hate cats," He repeated. "I'm gonna kill that thing."

"NO!" Rosemary exclaimed, a horrified look on her face. "You can't just kill it!"

"I'm gonna kill it right after I have a 'visit' with my _dear_ mother." He grinned maliciously. "She's probably given it the plague or some deadly disease that's meant to kill me. Why not meet her on the other side?"

Lauren faced Sirius, so slowly it was almost creepy. He glanced over at her before turning her way also.

"All I have to say," She said, her voice eerily calm. "Is if you lay a paw on _my_ cat, I will personally make sure you are the last in your family line."

It took Sirius a moment to respond. "You know, you can be really creepy when you want to be..."

"Keep talking about me and what you're going to do to cats and you'll find out how creepy I can be."

For a moment, everyone froze. They were all thinking the same thing: What?! James' gaze fell on Sirius.

"What in the world did you do to her?"

Sirius almost had to pry his eyes from Lauren, who had returned to her normal, happy mood. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Even Rosemary had been a little freaked out by Lauren's sudden mood swing. "What was with--"

"I'm not talking to you." Lauren interrupted. "Not you or Sirius or Remus."

"Why?"

"You left me with _him_! When you knew perfectly well I couldn't stop--"

"Lauren!" Remus broke in.

James looked thoroughly confused. "Do I really want to know what's going on?"

"No," Sirius returned to his lunch. "You really don't."

Lauren faced James intently. "So, _James_, did anything interesting happen while I was away this morning?" She obviously was going to keep her word about not talking to the others.

"Umm, yeah..." He still had a confused look on his face, completely out of the loop. "I was talking with Lily at breakfast..."

"She actually talked to you? In a civil manner?" Lauren laughed. "Sometimes, talking is good, but other times I just wish people would keep their _big mouths shut and leave others alone_."

"Yes," James answered slowly. "She and I had a normal talk. I guess you guys being away in the hospital wing made things a little less intimidating for her..." He took a few moments to ruffle his hair and lean back in his seat. "I asked her out and she actually said yes." His eyes narrowed on the group for a moment before he returned to his grinning. "I think it's just you guys."

Lauren nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. But I think it's some of us more than others."

Sirius frowned. "Who exactly are you--"

"So, James," Lauren raised her voice and continued to stare pointedly in James' direction. "Are you taking her anywhere today?"

James was starting to get a kick out of this whole ordeal. "I figured we'd go to Hogsmeade or something."

"Are you really not going to talk to us?" Rosemary sighed.

Lauren didn't move an inch. "Will you please tell these _people_ to get it through their heads that I'm not talking to them," She shot an evil look at Sirius before looking back at James. "Especially the _fleabag_."

James hardly had time to answer before a voice hissed just behind them. "Ohh, having trouble with the mudblood, Fleabag?"

Everyone turned, the same loathesome looks appearing on their faces. Severus Snape sneered down at them from where he stood.

Rosemary was the first to speak. "Technically, she's a half--"

"You snivelling pile of troll dung..." Sirius rose to his feet with a growl. He stared the Slytherin down. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his wand, ramming the tip into the other boy's chest. "I'm going to make you wish you never stepped foot inside this castle."

A few people were beginning to stare as Snape whipped his own wand from the pocket of his robes. "Bring it on, fluffy."

"Them's fightin' words, _Sni-va-llus_." Lauren sneered back, trying her best not to join in.

As if out of nowhere, a tall bearded figure strolled quietly up to the boys. They didn't move.

"I think it's best if we resolve this in _my office_." His voice remained calm as he looked in Lauren's direction. "You too, Miss Scutio."

"I swear, he's like Santa or something." Rosemary whispered as Lauren got reluctantly to her feet. "He knows everything!"

Keeping her word, Lauren ignored the comment. "Professor, I swear I didn't do anything this time!" Dumbledore continued down towards the Grand Staircase, the other two in tow. "Professor!"

"And I thought _you_ were the only one ignoring people." Sirius commented before receiving a firm slap to the back of his head.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter VI -- Like Fleas on Sirius

"Take a seat, Mister Black." Dumbledore motioned to a chair from where he sat at his own desk. Reluctantly, Sirius sat beside Lauren.

Snape stood a little ways off. The headmaster looked in his direction. "For instigating a fight in the Great Hall you get three weeks of detention with Professor McGonagall. I'm sure she has plenty of paperwork for you to help her with."

The Slytherin scoffed. Dumbledore glanced up at him, his silver-blue eyes suddenly piercing. "Professor McGonagall is not a patient woman..." Snape took the hint and left the room for his detention.

With Snape gone, Dumbledore could turn his attention to more important matters at hand. "So, am I correct in saying, Miss Scutio, that you and Mister Black are having a bit of a dissagreement?"

"Wow, this is already sounding like when my parents had to go to marraige counceling." Lauren said thoughtfully, staring at the ceiling.

Sirius' eyes narrowed as he looked her way. "What's that supposed to mean?" Lauren ignored him.

Dumbledore acted as though Lauren had said nothing. "A harsh word between friends is worse than a mouthful of harsh words between enemies..." The headmaster pulled a box from inside his desk. Lauren and Sirius wondered what was inside it.

They didn't have to wonder long, because in a heartbeat Dumbledore opened it to reveal what was unmistakably a wand. He waved it lightly as he continued talking.

"It's best not to keep things brewing." Some books rearanged themselves in the shelves behind him. "Are you two going to make up or should I give you a few detentions as well?"

Lauren raised her hand. "I'll take the detentions, Professor."

"They won't be in my office, Miss Scutio..." Dumbledore looked slightly amused as Lauren realized what he was saying. "And you won't be doing something as simple as cleaning after Fawkes."

Lauren and Sirius looked at each other. "Why do I have to say anything?" Lauren asked. "He's the one that needs to apologize."

Something mischeivous suddenly gleamed in Sirius' eyes. "I'm sorry, Lauren." He put on his most innocent face. "I'm sorry I took advantage of you being under the effects of a truth potion. I'm sorry I completely embarassed you in front of all our friends. And most of all, I'm sorry our friends left us alone in the Boy's Dormitory."

For a moment, Lauren was caught off gaurd. She saw Dumbledore smile ever so slightly before she realized what had just happened.

"You fleabag!" She exclaimed. "You just told him everything! Not that he didn't already know, but that's not the point!"

Sirius grinned. "Technically, I didn't tell him everything... But if you like I can." He studied his fingers a moment. "Now what do you say, _honey_?"

Lauren's face turned redder than the banners hanging in the Gryffindor common room. "I'm--sorry," She said between clenched teeth.

"What? I didn't catch that." Sirius cupped his hand behind his ear.

"That's good enough for now." The headmaster almost seemed to laugh from behind those half-moon spectacles. "Run along now. I believe you two are late for History of Magic."

"But Professor, I have Herbology next." Sirius stated, a little confused.

But Dumbledore wasn't revealing anything. "Professor Binns keeps those that are late to his class after a little while... I'd hurry."

Lauren stood quickly, oddly eager to get to her next class. She started to walk off as Sirius made an attempt to stand also. It didn't go too well. Sirius' chair crashed to the floor, taking the surprised student with it. Lauren stopped quickly and turned back to look at him.

"What's up with you?" She asked as he got to his feet, dusting himself off and trying to look as though nothing had just happened.

"Nothing," Came the answer with a frown. "I just... fell over." He didn't want to admit that he had no idea what had just happened.

"Well, hurry up. I don't want to get an un-fun detention because of you."

Down a few flights of stairs and past a couple of classrooms they went, Lauren trying to quickly lose Sirius in the mass of students, and Sirius stumbling to keep up with her.

Lauren opened the door to the History of Magic classroom rather loudly, making a disruptive entrance that her fellow students would most likely thank her for later. Professor Binns stopped his lecturing to watch her enter and find her seat. A very bewildered Sirius followed her, hardly having the time to grab a seat of his own. He sat beside her desk on the floor as students began to murmur things like, "What is _he_ doing here?" and "Doesn't he know this is a _Slytherin and Ravenclaw_ class period; no Gryffindors allowed?"

"What are you doing?" Lauren hissed as Professor Binns went back to talking monotinously about magic in the medieval period.

"I thought you weren't talking to me." Sirius whispered back. "Maybe I just wanted to see what _your_ daily life was like so I could better understand you... after all, isn't that what we're supposed to learn in 'marraige counceling'?"

Lauren's eyes narrowed as she turned back to face the front of the room. She set her head down on her desk, not noticing Rosemary sitting a few desks over. The Ravenclaw looked at Sirius questioningly; he shrugged an answer and tried not to doze off himself.

Lauren was awoken rather loudly by Professor Binns in what seemed a matter of minutes. "Class is over, Miss Scutio." He droned. "Time to wake up and smell the detentions." He set a small stack of papers on her desk. She grabbed them and began to read.

"It's nice to see you showing some interest in History, Mister Black, but the Gryffindors aren't due in here for another two class periods. If you like this class that much, I'm thinking of starting a History Club and I need people to sign up. I'll leave the list on the classroom door." Sirius watched the ghost leave for his office, not bothering to answer.

"Failing to arrive at class on time, disrupting an 'important lecture', Bringing a student from another class?!" Lauren fumed as she read off the three separate detentions, turning to Sirius. "This is all your fault."

"My fault?" The boy stepped around her desk and went for the door as Rosemary walked over to them. "How is it my fault?"

Before Lauren could answer she was dragged from her seat by an unseen force and quickly met him where he stood. They exchanged confused glances before Lauren returned to her desk to retreive her things. Sirius tripped backwards, bumping into her. She nearly fell over the back of her desk.

"What is wrong with you?" She asked, demanding an answer.

"There's nothing wrong with me!" He retorted. "I just... can't get away from you."

Lauren smirked. "I know I'm hard to resist, but there's no need to--"

"No, I mean I really can't get away from you. See for yourself." He made an attempt to walk away and leave Lauren where she stood. Lauren held firmly to the desk as Sirius strained against some mysterious force. He moved, finally, and so did Lauren. The desk she was holding on to groaned loudly as she and the desk were dragged across the cold stone floor. Sirius stopped, and so did they.

"That's weird..." Rosemary finally spoke, trying to figure out what had just happened. "It's like you guys have some magnetic attraction or something..."

"Oh," Lauren scoffed. "I don't have a magnetic attraction to him no matter what I said in the Boy's Dormitory." Sirius gave her a look that plainly said, "Yeah, right."

Rosemary frowned. "Maybe it's something magical. We should go ask James and Remus what they think. Until then I guess you're stuck with each other like fleas on Sirius."

"Hey!"

------------

"What do you think, Moony?" Sirius' eyes fell on the werewolf, who frowned.

"I'm not sure. It appears to be magical, but I've never seen, let alone read about, anything like this." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "How far did you say the limit was, Lauren?"

She scowled. "About two or three feet."

"Yep, it definately sounds like someone meant for you two to be together." James pointed out.

"Well, obviously." Rosemary responded. "I think I remember reading something about this once... In a book, of course, at my muggle school as a child. Maybe it's some fairy-tale spell. And how are fairy-tale spells broken, guys?" She obviously knew the answer.

A grin spread slowly over Sirius' face as he turned to Lauren.

"Oh, no. You're not tricking me again. Not twice in one day." Her arms folded defiantly. "I'm still not speaking to you guys, remember?"

Sirius chuckled. "Well, I guess we'll be stuck together forever. Won't that be fun? Just think: you'll have to breathe, eat, sleep, and take showers with me next to you for the rest of your life."

Rosemary snickered, receiving a death glare from Lauren for it.

"Well I'm not particularly planning on doing _anything_ with you there twenty-four-seven. What exactly is this anti-spell thing again?" She prayed silently that they wouldn't say what she had suspected all this time.

"One big kiss." Sirius laughed. He was clearly going to enjoy this. "You have two choices: me as a human or me as a dog."

"Why's it gotta be you, fleabag?"

"The spell is on _both of us_. If someone kisses just _you_, then that won't work because I'll still be stuck with this spell on me. That means I'll still be with you twenty-four-seven... sleeping with you, getting dressed with you, taking showers with you..."

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Lauren tried to hide the fact that she might actually enjoy this. As far as they all knew, she was still upset about the whole leaving-her-with-Sirius-while-she-was-still-affected-by-a-truth-potion thing. "What are my choices again?"

"Me as a dog: slobber, fleas, fur, and all," Sirius didn't look away from her. "Or me as a human. Which I, personally, would enjoy much better. But either way is fine with me."

Lauren looked helplessly at Remus. "Are you _positive_ that this is the only way that this spell can be broken?"

Remus shrugged, carefully hiding a smile. "It's worth a try. After all, it _has_ been proven to be a very good solution to those pesky, un-treatable spells and potions and such."

With a sigh, Lauren looked to Sirius. "Okay, let's hurry up and get it over with."

"Ohh, come on, now. You know you'll enjoy this."

Lauren had no answer for this. She closed her eyes, waiting for it all to be over so she could be mad at everyone again. "Do they really have to watch?"

Sirius leaned over, his back to the others. For a moment, a very long moment, neither of their faces could be seen. A few passing students stared, but the two seemed not to notice. Rosemary jokingly checked an invisible watch. "How can they breathe?" She wondered briefly.

Finally, Sirius turned back around, a triumphant look gracing his handsome face. Lauren looked as though she would fall over any minute as her head swam. Briskly she shook it off as Sirius turned her way again.

"So, did it work?" Rosemary took a few steps towards Lauren.

Lauren made an attempt to walk away from Sirius but felt the magical magnetic force pulling her back. She slowly turned around, the creepy air washing over her again. "It didn't work." Her voice was deathly quiet, teeth clenched.

Sirius was the only one that didn't seem to fazed by it. "Well, maybe we just didn't do it right the first time. Want to give it another go?"

"No, no," Rosemary said hurriedly. "I think you did it right, and it didn't work, so let's move on to another idea."

Lauren faced Sirius, who looked a little dissapointed. "Yes, let's move on," She paused. "Before _someone_ turns up missing tomorrow."

"Well, that'll be _two_ someones if we don't get this figured out." Sirius grinned darkly.

"Hey, Sirius," Lauren stared coldly at him. "Is that arm of yours feeling better? 'Cause I can always fix that again..."

He made an attempt to step away, but only ended up dragging Lauren with him as he fell into an armchair. Lauren walked slowly towards him, an evil grin on her face. Sirius grabbed James, who stood nearby watching the whole thing. "Help!" He managed to gasp before he was met with his certain doom.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter VII -- Counterspells

"Professor!"

Lauren Scutio burst through the doors to the headmaster's office. The headmaster kept calm, a slightly amused look on his face as he saw the students half walking, half stumbling towards his desk.

"Yes, Lauren?" He was quite good at that innocent, polite look he gave most of the time.

Lauren sat violently down in a chair in front of the desk as Sirius nearly ran into the chair beside her. "Do you by any chance know anything at all about, say, a spell that was put on Sirius and I recently?"

Dumbledore took a moment to respond. "What sort of spell, Miss Scutio?"

Lauren was beginning to think something was up. "The sort of spell that won't let either of us get more than three feet away from each other? The sort of spell that causes this?"

Before Sirius could react, Lauren stood and walked as quickly as she could manage towards the doors that led to the griffin statue outside. He gave a yelp as he was once again dragged from his seat and lay painfully on the floor. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to get out of this one without a few bruises... maybe a concussion or two... Dumbledore's eyes laughed as Lauren took her seat again, hardly bothering to help Sirius up from where he fell.

"I might have had something to do with this..." The headmaster chuckled softly, receiving a glare from Lauren and a very, very miserable look from Sirius.

"So how do we fix it?" Even for talking to her favorite professor, Lauren sounded thouroughly angry. "I don't particularly want to be stuck with _this thing_ for the rest of my life," She motioned to Sirius. "Even if he isn't that bad when it comes to kissing."

At first Sirius gave her a shocked look, as if to say, "I can't believe you just said that to the _headmaster_ with me still in the room!" Since Dumbledore said nothing to this comment, his look quickly changed to one that seemed to say, "Well, thanks. You're not too bad yourself."

"I am sorry to say that I do not have a spell to counteract the one I put on you." Dumbledore answered calmly.

"You don't?! How can you legally put a spell on two students without having some way to undo it?!" Lauren seemed a little upset. "I can't believe you'd--"

Dumbledore raised his hand and she fell instantly silent. "I simply said I didn't have a spell to counteract the one I put on you. I never said that the spell didn't have a solution. The only way to stop the effects that the spell is having on you two is to do exactly what it was put on you to do."

"What's that? Have us take marraige counceling classes?" Sirius laughed, looking to Lauren, who looked as though she was beginning to regret ever mentioning the counceling thing.

"I think he means we have to learn to get along---"

"You weren't exactly fighting with me when I kissed you..." Sirius grinned earning himself an annoyed look in return. "Maybe we should do that more often."

"---for an extended period of time." Lauren finished her sentence where she had been interrupted.

Sirius put on his biggest, smuggest grin yet. "I didn't know you enjoyed my kissing _that_ much... But if you insist..." He leaned towards her. Lauren's fist made contact with his arm again, but this time she didn't look too sorry about it.

"Jeez, woman!" Sirius shrank away from Lauren as far as he could and held his tender arm. "Don't you know all this hitting me isn't helping the whole aniti-spell thing! At least I'm trying to help it along!"

"Professor, I think you'd better step in before I beat him."

"What was that, Miss Scutio?" Dumbledore turned around towards the pair. He had obviously missed every word they had just said.

"Nevermind... I'll try to get along with this _mutt_." Lauren sent the man a hurt look before sulkily rising from the chair. Sirius took the cue and actually made it to his feet without his face first making contact with the floor.

"Glad I could help." Dumbledore waved lightheartedly as the two exited the office almost in step with eachother.

"Yeah, sure." Lauren muttered as she closed the door behind them.

------------

"Personally, I think you two have dominance issues. No pun intended, Sirius." Rosemary watched Lauren and Sirius thoughtfully as they tried sitting at the same time on the great sofa in the Gryffindor common room.

"Yeah, sure." Lauren scoffed. "If he knows what's good for him, he'll listen to me."

"Well, if you think about it, Sirius always has some smart remark for you, but then when you get all upset about it, he backs off. I think deep down, that dog in him is challenging you. Ask yourselves this: Who's _really_ top dog in this relationship?"

"He _does _seem to enjoy smarting off--- Wait a minute: _relationship_?" Lauren suddenly became offended. "What makes you think there's any sort of realtionship going on?"

Rosemary counted off on her fingers. "Well, first of all there's the fact that you spilled everything -- all your feelings -- to him and everyone else when you ingested that Veritaserum, a _truth potion_. Second, Dumbledore put a spell on you that makes you stick with each other. He obviously knows something's going on. After all, he's Dumbledore! He knows everything! Third, the only solution to getting rid of this spell is to understand each other and get along for once. Fourth, you weren't exactly complaining after that kiss."

"Okay, okay, I get it." Lauren growled. "Still, none of that means there's any sort of relationship going on."

Sirius watched all of this, taking in every bit of information. "Okay, then... There's no relationship _yet_, so... Lauren, would you like to be my girlfriend?"

A wide smile spread over Rosemary's face. Lauren sat there a moment, thinking over her answer as both Sirius and Rosemary stared intently. Lauren looked between them and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Fine, if you insist." Lauren acted as though she was forcing herself to say this. They both knew this wasn't the case because even she couldn't hide the smile that creeped faithfully onto her lips. "I guess I'll be your girlfriend, seeing as I'll get no peace otherwise. And certainly no privacy."

"So, honey." Sirius laughed. "How's about a celebratory kiss to start out our new relationship?"

The Slytherin shot him a dark look. He took the hint and didn't say a word more.

"Well, I guess this is a good start to that anti-spell thing." Rosemary shrugged. "And it answers the whole 'top dog' question. Looks like you're bound to be on a short leash for a while, Sirius. Now, can either of you tell me where James and Remus are?"

"You don't know?" Lauren nearly laughed. "We've been in Dumbledore's office since lunch. Haven't you been keeping an eye on them?"

Rosemary folded her arms. "What am I, the babysitter?"

"Well..."

"Where do you think they'd probably be?" Rosemary asked Sirius.

He shrugged. "Knowing James and what's happened recently, he's probably off stalking Lily or something, even if they _are_ going out now. Old habits never die..."

Lauren glanced over at him. "Don't you mean You can't teach an old dog new tricks?"

Sirius ignored the comment and continued with his statement. "As for Remus, he could be anywhere: in the Library, in a classroom, still at lunch, with James... I suggest checking the Map."

"Do we know where the Map is?" Lauren asked.

Rosemary sighed. "Great. We're going to need a map just so we can find the Map!"

"Maybe not." Sirius sat up from where he lounged on the sofa. "Wait here, I'll go upstairs and search James' trunk. He probably left it in there after we gave it back to him this morning."

"Are you forgetting something?" Lauren glanced up at him. "Because of _Santa_ we're practically joined at the hip." She spoke loudly, perhaps thinking that Dumbledore could hear her. She was probably right.

"Ohh. Right."

Suddenly, a lightbulb went on in Rosemary's brain. "Umm, guys? We never gave the Map back to James this morning, did we?"

The others froze.

"You had it last, Sirius." Lauren said.

"No I didn't, I gave it back to Remus this morning before we left the Shack."

Lauren raised her hands hopelessly. "Well, a lot of good it's going to do us if it's with one of the people we need it to find in the first place!"

Rosemary thought a moment. "Maybe we can go to the places he'd be. I'll go check the Library. Sirius, you have a good nose, so you can find James and maybe Remus while you're at it. I guess that leaves you checking the classrooms, Lauren."

"Are you both dense? Sirius and I can't exactly go to two different places, can we, Rosemary?"

"Ohh. Right." Rosemary frowned. "Maybe we could go ask Dumbledore to find them."

Lauren scowled. "As much as I like Dumbledore, I'm kind of upset at him for putting this spell on us."

"So there goes that idea." The Ravenclaw thought some more. "Hey, Sirius, you've still got that rabid 'anonymous' fanclub, right?"

"Yeah." He didn't sound too amused.

"Well, maybe we can get them to start a search. They'd do anything for you, right?"

"I guess. I mostly stay as far from them as I can, so I don't get to see whether they'd do things for me if I asked."

"I don't think they'll like me being so close to Sirius," Lauren said. "You said they're rabid, right?"

"Might as well be." Sirius sighed.

"Ohh, how will they react when they find out you have a girlfriend?" Lauren asked Sirius, an amused, worried look playing across her face. "Especially one who's in Slytherin?"

Rosemary laughed. "They'll probably stone you on the Grounds or something. Unless 'His Highness, Sir Fluffybum the Great' comes to the rescue."

Both Lauren and Sirius stopped to give her a confused look.

"Don't ask. That was completely random." The blonde shook her head. "How are we going to find them? None of us are in it, obviously enough for you, Sirius... Maybe we can set up a trap and find them that way."

Sirius frowned. "But if you have a trap, you'd need bait..."

Lauren and Rosemary smiled in his direction.

"Crap."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter VIII -- Bait and Tackle

The corridor just in front of the main doors of Hogwarts was alive with students from every house, standing off in a corner to talk with a friend, chasing siblings through the corridors, skipping merrily off to the grounds, and trading all sorts of Zonko's items and famous witches and wizards cards.

Sirius strolled inconspicuously into the middle of the open corridor, Lauren close behind. He made sure that there weren't too many people looking his way and prepared himself for what was going to happen next.

Lauren rushed away from him as fast as she could, acting as though she hadn't seen him. He hardly had time to brace himself before the floor came rushing up at him. Upon impact, Sirius lay still. Lauren whirled around and let out a surprised, "Oh, my god! I'm so sorry, Sirius! I didn't see you there!"

No answer. He lay as still as he could manage, hoping nobody accidentally stepped on him.

People were beginning to stare as Lauren fell dramatically to his side. Somewhere in the background, Rosemary melted into the crowd that had begun to form. Lauren pretended to check his pulse, and then his breathing.

"He's not breathing." She said before calling out. "Does anyone know CPR?"

A few excited squeals erupted from the crowd as several girls hurried over.

"I do, I do!"

"My mother was a nurse!"

"Pick me, pick me! I love him most!"

"I took a job as a lifeguard once!"

"I can spell CPR!"

Lauren stopped the herd before anyone really got hurt. From out of nowhere a Gryffindor girl appeared. The other girls stepped reluctantly aside as she walked towards where Sirius lay.

"What happened?" She asked Lauren, trying not to sound excited.

"I'm not sure. He just... fell. I think I might have accidentally bumped into him or something."

The girl shoved Lauren aside and bent close over Sirius. For a moment she looked stunned, as though she couldn't believe she was actually this close to him. All around, girls gave her jealous looks. Lauren looked as though she could kill the girl right here in front of everyone, but Rosemary sent her a warning look. They couldn't blow this.

The Gryffindor neared closer and closer, the tension thick in the air. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Sirius coughed back to life. The girl gave a startled squeal and fell back as he sat up, faking injury.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked as a few cheers went up in the crowd that had now begun to disperse as students found other more interesting things to do. "I can kiss it and make it better if you want..." Lauren found it hard not to punch the girl in the face.

Sirius nodded with a, "I'm fine, thanks." He got to his feet. Lauren followed suit. The girl shoved her way between Lauren and Sirius, an amazing feat considering the spell put on them. She was getting on Lauren's nerves more and more as the seconds passed.

Sirius noticed this and hurriedly distracted the girl. "Umm, I've got a favor to ask of you. All of you, really."

The fangirls around them closed in dangerously, like lionesses on a wounded elephant.

"I bet she did it on purpose," someone muttered.

"She is a Slytherin, after all."

"I bet she's using them all... She's probably that loser Snape's girlfriend..."

"She's trying to kill Sirius!" Someone shrieked.

"Sirius!" Lauren growled. "You'd better ask fast before these girls get what's coming to them!"

"Don't you talk to him like that!"

"How dare you? You--"

Lauren blocked out the rest of the rude responses. Rosemary decided it would be best if she stepped over to calm Lauren down before anyone got seriously hurt.

"I need some help finding someone." Sirius looked over at the leader. "I'm correct in assuming I've found my fanclub?"

The girls all nodded happily.

"Good. I need to find a few friends of mine. James Potter and Remus Lupin. Have you seen them?" Sirius asked.

Lauren scoffed. "They're too busy looking at you all the time."

"Girls!" The leader barked. "Send up the alert! We have a code black; I want every inch of this castle searched, on the double!"

The girls all scattered as quickly as they had appeared.

"Thanks," Sirius said.

The girl hadn't moved an inch. "Anything for you, Sirius..."

"Okay, okay, move it along." Lauren snarled at the girl. "He's fine and you've gotten on his good side. That's enough excitement for one day. Continue your search already."

The girl sneered before returning to her sweet, innocent face. "I'll meet you in the common room if we find them, Sirius... make sure you're alone."

Sirius waved as the girl turned to walk off. Lauren muttered profanities and death threats under her breath. Rosemary tried not to laugh about the whole ordeal as the three of them headed for the Gryffindor common room.

"Wha-- you're... here?" Lauren's jaw dropped as her eyes fell on none other than Misters Potter and Lupin, chatting among other students in front of the enchanted fire place.

"Umm, yeah. Where else would we be?" James asked cooly, smirking as he did so.

Sirius chuckled. "We just pulled off the biggest fake-out since that time you pretended to be dead after falling from your broom in front of Lily and her friends in third year. Only this time it didn't involve the dead person attempting to make out with his rescuer."

"Better not have." Lauren shot him a sideways glance.

"Since when are you concerned with who Sirius makes out with?" James reclined back in an armchair.

"Since about thirty minutes ago."

Lauren made an attempt to walk off, leaving the conversation where it was, before another question stopped her.

"Why did you have to pull it off in the first place?" James raised an eyebrow. "And why wasn't I invited?"

Lauren rushed at him angrily. Sirius quickly took a few steps towards James also. He was beginning to get the hang of this.

"We were trying to find you two. You decided to run off somewhere and someone didn't keep an eye on you." She stared pointedly at Rosemary, who tried to defend herself. But Lauren wasn't listening. "You can't stay in one place for more than two seconds and you need a babysitter because of it, but even when you're given one, you still manage to run off again! So we had to resort to tricking Sirius' fanclub into sending out a search party. And do you know what I had to deal with?"

James was trying his hardest to look as though he wasn't fazed by her rampage.

"I had to deal with--"

Suddenly someone burst through the portrait hole. It was the leader of the fanclub, looking as though she had just run half way across the school.

"THAT!" Lauren pointed in the girl's direction, only she wasn't pointing with her finger. She had instinctively pulled out her wand... and with the way she was talking in a threatening manner and the look on her face showing utter loathing, it didn't look like the girl would make it out of this one alive. Or at least without a few bruises and a bloody nose.

The girl shot Lauren a snotty look before heading straight for Sirius.

"I know you didn't just ignore me," Lauren snapped, not taking her eyes off the girl.

The girl ignored her again, nearing particularly close to Sirius. He shot Lauren a "help me" look before looking back at the girl.

"So, Sirius..." She said quietly. "I thought you said you'd be here alone." It almost seemed like she didn't care that everyone else was in the room.

"You'd better back off." Lauren spat.

"I'd listen to her if I were you." Rosemary agreed.

"I'm not afraid of you." The girl hissed. "What's a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw doing in the Gryffindor common room, anyways? Hasn't Dumbledore thrown you two out yet?"

By this time, Rosemary, too, had whipped out her own wand, and held it at her side. "You tackle her and I'll put a spell on her." She smiled darkly. "She'll never know what -- or who -- hit her."

But Lauren beat her to the spell-casting.

"Sectumsempra!" Lauren shouted, drawing her wand through the air. A gash followed where her wand trailed. The girl shrieked and held her now-bloody face. Tears spilled around her hands as she let out a blood-curdling scream (which was highly unnecessary in Lauren's opinion).

Everyone but Lauren jumped back in surprise at what had just ensued. The girl turned shakily, obviously backing down from this one.

"Furnunculus." Rosemary said quietly as the girl turned to leave. There was no way she was going to let Lauren have all the fun on this one. Almost instantly, a large boil began to form on the girl's arm as she ran, crying frantically, from the common room. She could still be heard even after she had reached the Grand Staircase.

"Prepare for another trip to Dumbledore's." Rosemary said to a very livid-looking Lauren.

CHAPTER VIII -- BAIT AND TACKLE

The corridor just in front of the main doors of Hogwarts was alive with students from every house, standing off in a corner to talk with a friend, chasing siblings through the corridors, skipping merrily off to the grounds, and trading all sorts of Zonko's items and famous witches and wizards cards.

Sirius strolled inconspicuously into the middle of the open corridor, Lauren close behind. He made sure that there weren't too many people looking his way and prepared himself for what was going to happen next.

Lauren rushed away from him as fast as she could, acting as though she hadn't seen him. He hardly had time to brace himself before the floor came rushing up at him. Upon impact, Sirius lay still. Lauren whirled around and let out a surprised, "Oh, my god! I'm so sorry, Sirius! I didn't see you there!"

No answer. He lay as still as he could manage, hoping nobody accidentally stepped on him.

People were beginning to stare as Lauren fell dramatically to his side. Somewhere in the background, Rosemary melted into the crowd that had begun to form. Lauren pretended to check his pulse, and then his breathing.

"He's not breathing." She said before calling out. "Does anyone know CPR?"

A few excited squeals erupted from the crowd as several girls hurried over.

"I do, I do!"

"My mother was a nurse!"

"Pick me, pick me! I love him most!"

"I took a job as a lifeguard once!"

"I can spell CPR!"

Lauren stopped the herd before anyone really got hurt. From out of nowhere a Gryffindor girl appeared. The other girls stepped reluctantly aside as she walked towards where Sirius lay.

"What happened?" She asked Lauren, trying not to sound excited.

"I'm not sure. He just... fell. I think I might have accidentally bumped into him or something."

The girl shoved Lauren aside and bent close over Sirius. For a moment she looked stunned, as though she couldn't believe she was actually this close to him. All around, girls gave her jealous looks. Lauren looked as though she could kill the girl right here in front of everyone, but Rosemary sent her a warning look. They couldn't blow this.

The Gryffindor neared closer and closer, the tension thick in the air. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Sirius coughed back to life. The girl gave a startled squeal and fell back as he sat up, faking injury.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked as a few cheers went up in the crowd that had now begun to disperse as students found other more interesting things to do. "I can kiss it and make it better if you want..." Lauren found it hard not to punch the girl in the face.

Sirius nodded with a, "I'm fine, thanks." He got to his feet. Lauren followed suit. The girl shoved her way between Lauren and Sirius, an amazing feat considering the spell put on them. She was getting on Lauren's nerves more and more as the seconds passed.

Sirius noticed this and hurriedly distracted the girl. "Umm, I've got a favor to ask of you. All of you, really."

The fangirls around them closed in dangerously, like lionesses on a wounded elephant.

"I bet she did it on purpose," someone muttered.

"She is a Slytherin, after all."

"I bet she's using them all... She's probably that loser Snape's girlfriend..."

"She's trying to kill Sirius!" Someone shrieked.

"Sirius!" Lauren growled. "You'd better ask fast before these girls get what's coming to them!"

"Don't you talk to him like that!"

"How dare you? You--"

Lauren blocked out the rest of the rude responses. Rosemary decided it would be best if she stepped over to calm Lauren down before anyone got seriously hurt.

"I need some help finding someone." Sirius looked over at the leader. "I'm correct in assuming I've found my fanclub?"

The girls all nodded happily.

"Good. I need to find a few friends of mine. James Potter and Remus Lupin. Have you seen them?" Sirius asked.

Lauren scoffed. "They're too busy looking at you all the time."

"Girls!" The leader barked. "Send up the alert! We have a code black; I want every inch of this castle searched, on the double!"

The girls all scattered as quickly as they had appeared.

"Thanks," Sirius said.

The girl hadn't moved an inch. "Anything for you, Sirius..."

"Okay, okay, move it along." Lauren snarled at the girl. "He's fine and you've gotten on his good side. That's enough excitement for one day. Continue your search already."

The girl sneered before returning to her sweet, innocent face. "I'll meet you in the common room if we find them, Sirius... make sure you're alone."

Sirius waved as the girl turned to walk off. Lauren muttered profanities and death threats under her breath. Rosemary tried not to laugh about the whole ordeal as the three of them headed for the Gryffindor common room.

"Wha-- you're... here?" Lauren's jaw dropped as her eyes fell on none other than Misters Potter and Lupin, chatting among other students in front of the enchanted fire place.

"Umm, yeah. Where else would we be?" James asked cooly, smirking as he did so.

Sirius chuckled. "We just pulled off the biggest fake-out since that time you pretended to be dead after falling from your broom in front of Lily and her friends in third year. Only this time it didn't involve the dead person attempting to make out with his rescuer."

"Better not have." Lauren shot him a sideways glance.

"Since when are you concerned with who Sirius makes out with?" James reclined back in an armchair.

"Since about thirty minutes ago."

Lauren made an attempt to walk off, leaving the conversation where it was, before another question stopped her.

"Why did you have to pull it off in the first place?" James raised an eyebrow. "And why wasn't I invited?"

Lauren rushed at him angrily. Sirius quickly took a few steps towards James also. He was beginning to get the hang of this.

"We were trying to find you two. You decided to run off somewhere and someone didn't keep an eye on you." She stared pointedly at Rosemary, who tried to defend herself. But Lauren wasn't listening. "You can't stay in one place for more than two seconds and you need a babysitter because of it, but even when you're given one, you still manage to run off again! So we had to resort to tricking Sirius' fanclub into sending out a search party. And do you know what I had to deal with?"

James was trying his hardest to look as though he wasn't fazed by her rampage.

"I had to deal with--"

Suddenly someone burst through the portrait hole. It was the leader of the fanclub, looking as though she had just run half way across the school.

"THAT!" Lauren pointed in the girl's direction, only she wasn't pointing with her finger. She had instinctively pulled out her wand... and with the way she was talking in a threatening manner and the look on her face showing utter loathing, it didn't look like the girl would make it out of this one alive. Or at least without a few bruises and a bloody nose.

The girl shot Lauren a snotty look before heading straight for Sirius.

"I know you didn't just ignore me," Lauren snapped, not taking her eyes off the girl.

The girl ignored her again, nearing particularly close to Sirius. He shot Lauren a "help me" look before looking back at the girl.

"So, Sirius..." She said quietly. "I thought you said you'd be here alone." It almost seemed like she didn't care that everyone else was in the room.

"You'd better back off." Lauren spat.

"I'd listen to her if I were you." Rosemary agreed.

"I'm not afraid of you." The girl hissed. "What's a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw doing in the Gryffindor common room, anyways? Hasn't Dumbledore thrown you two out yet?"

By this time, Rosemary, too, had whipped out her own wand, and held it at her side. "You tackle her and I'll put a spell on her." She smiled darkly. "She'll never know what -- or who -- hit her."

But Lauren beat her to the spell-casting.

"Sectumsempra!" Lauren shouted, drawing her wand through the air. A gash followed where her wand trailed. The girl shrieked and held her now-bloody face. Tears spilled around her hands as she let out a blood-curdling scream (which was highly unnecessary in Lauren's opinion).

Everyone but Lauren jumped back in surprise at what had just ensued. The girl turned shakily, obviously backing down from this one.

"Furnunculus." Rosemary said quietly as the girl turned to leave. There was no way she was going to let Lauren have all the fun on this one. Almost instantly, a large boil began to form on the girl's arm as she ran, crying frantically, from the common room. She could still be heard even after she had reached the Grand Staircase.

"Prepare for another trip to Dumbledore's." Rosemary said to a very livid-looking Lauren.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter IX -- Consequences

"This is rather ironic." A hand flew up into a mess of black hair. James' brown eyes fell on one particular Ravenclaw. "First, Remus, Sirius and I aren't the ones throwing spells at people for once, and then _you_ of all people join in."

Rosemary shrugged. "I can't stand people like that. We aren't all as prim and proper as Remus." She gave the blonde a toothy smile, receiving a slight narrowing of the eyes in return. "She was practically throwing herself at someone who didn't want her in the first place. I was just... backing Lauren and Sirius up here. There's nothing wrong with that. After all, James Potter, you do it all the time."

"Finally." Lauren growled. "That horrible screaming has stopped."

"Replaced by uncontrollable sobbing, no doubt." Sirius scoffed.

"You know she's out there tattling on us." Rosemary said, picking at a loose thread on the armchair she was curled in.

"So whatever happened to sweet little Rosemary, anyways?" James asked cooly.

Lauren looked at him doubtfully. "Ohh, there's nothing totally sweet and little about Rosemary. She can be a real female..."

"Wolf?" Rosemary suggested.

"Yeah, that. She can be a real female wolf when she wants to be."

"Literally," The Ravenclaw laughed. "I guess you could say we've all got a little bite to back up that bark, ehh, Sirius? I was just fed up with barking... and hearing Lauren bark, at that."

"You know..." Remus joined in finally. "The headmaster's never going to believe that you actually attacked a girl."

"Good."

"Don't you feel the least bit sorry about that? I mean, you'll be practically lying to Dumbledore!" Remus raised his eyebrows.

"No... not really." Rosemary shook her head. "And it won't be me lying to him. Not if he automatically _assumes_ I'd never do something like that. But if he asks whether I attacked her or not I'll tell him the truth. James and Sirius haven't had _that_ big of an effect on me. I still have a conscience."

As if on cue, a light, haunting song flooded through an open door as a great bird, bearing Gryffindor colors, perched on the windowsill.

"Looks like we're being paged, Rosemary." Lauren stood to walk towards the back of the Fat Lady's portrait, Sirius doing the same. Rosemary glanced over at Fawkes and headed for the portrait hole as well.

------------

A half an hour later, the trio returned to the Gryffindor common.

"So, what's the verdict?" James flashed a grin as they all took their seats respectively.

"Dumbledore said we all get detention with McGonagall. Well, not Sirius. He can just sit there or something. We'll bring along a nice bone to keep him occupied." Lauren said.

"At least he didn't decide to put a spell on all three of us." Rosemary sighed. "Wait... Are we completely sure he didn't put a spell on us?"

"Well, you didn't see him wave his wand around, did you?" Lauren asked.

"But it could have been some non-verbal, wand-less spell. They exist, you know, and I bet Dumbledore knows how to use them."

Sirius exhaled. "There's no spell on us. I think one spell is enough, don't you?"

Rosemary's brow furrowed. "But this thing _has_ to have some consequences, right? I mean, we basically attacked a girl. With magic, no less. Don't we get something more than just a few detentions?"

"Stop saying that," Sirius nearly shivered. "You'll jinx us or something."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter X -- Scuttlebutt

"Lauren, I think you're going to want to read this." Rosemary motioned over to the notice board in the Gryffindor common room. There was a large, marigold-colored notice plastered there. It blared the words: ALERT! Lauren ran her finger down the paper, reading it off aloud.

"Attention all 'Barking Mad about Sirius' fanclub members, and everyone else in the school: There have been some reports here recently of a particular Slytherin and Ravenclaw (LAUREN SCUTIO AND ROSEMARY DINOZZO) frequenting the Gryffindor common room instead of their own house common rooms. Any further sightings should be reported to Bridgette Smith, Gryffindor sixth year, President of the 'Barking Mad about Sirius' fanclub. Let it be known that these students are potentially DANGEROUS. They have already brutally attacked a girl, landing her in the Hospital Wing with multiple potentially fatal injuries. Don't let their next victim be YOU."

"When did they put that up?" A voice asked behind them. Remus Lupin held a small mug of coffee, sipping it every now and then.

"Probably late last night." Rosemary said distastefully. "Look, there's more."

At the bottom of the paper there were little notes scrawled in many different handwritings. Lauren read them quietly off to herself.

"Scutio is a TRAITOR."

"Scutio is in league with Severus Snape."

"Scutio and DiNozzo are assassins sent to murder Sirius Black and his friends."

"Lauren Scutio is Severus Snape's girlfriend."

"The Slytherin betrayed not only her house but her Gryffindor 'friends' as well."

"DiNozzo is secretly in Slytherin."

"Sirius is under a cruel spell put on him by the... witches."

"Save Sirius!"

Lauren stopped reading, growing angrier with each sentence she read. She looked around for Rosemary and Remus, but noticed instead that the Gryffindors that had been in the room had all scattered. A few faces peered suspiciously around tapestries and corners, but dissapeared when they saw Lauren looking their way. As Sirius Black entered the room from upstairs, he read the anger in Lauren's face and hardly had to ask what was wrong.

"It's just scuttlebutt." Rosemary told Lauren, hatred clearly in her voice. "They think they can get to us this way. Well, mostly you. Don't prove them right."

"What's 'scuttlebutt'?" Sirius inquired, glancing only briefly over at the paper on the notice board.

As if on cue, both girls raised a finger in the air and said simultaniously, "Scuttlebutt is U.S. Marine talk for gossip." They laughed, looking at eachother as they finished.

"Rosemary's grandfather is an ex-marine/NCIS agent. NCIS stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service." Lauren decided to add.

Rosemary thought a moment. "Rule number nine is..."

"Never go anywhere without a knife. Or, in our case, a wand. Rule number twenty-seven?" Lauren asked.

"Never mess with a Marine's coffee if you want to live." Rosemary grimaced. "I learned that one the hard way."

"Rule number one?" Lauren continued.

"Okay, I think we get it now." Sirius interrupted. "What's your grandfather's name?"

"Jethro Gibbs, aka the Silver-Haired Fox," exclaimed Lauren.

Sirius gave her a slightly offended look before she explained that her sister had given him that name, not her. But there was no way she was going to mention that she secretly thought Rosemary's grandfather was hot, at least not to Sirius.

"So, what are we going to do about all this 'scuttlebutt'?" Sirius asked.

"We? What do you mean, we?" Lauren shot back.

"Hey! You know what I just realized?" Rosemary exclaimed excitedly. "You two aren't joined at the hip anymore!"

Lauren agreed casually. "Yeah, I guess Dumbledore didn't want to be the one responsible for what might have happened had we slept on the same couch."

"Too bad, too. I was looking forward to it." A smile slipped onto Sirius' face.

Lauren threw an evil grin in Sirius' direction. "No one said it wasn't going to happen anyways." They both turned automatically to see Rosemary's reaction.

Rosemary raised her eyebrows before turning back to the notice board. "That was _way_ too much information."

"What are we going to do about all this scuttlebutt?" Sirius repeated, changing the subject. Rosemary, having no idea herself, turned to Lauren questioningly. The smile faded from the sixth year's face and her gaze grew steely.

"We're going to destroy her... _and_ that fanclub."

Sirius face changed to one of slight joy. "But how? You can't just go traipsing up to her and do what you did yesterday, no matter how badly you want to."

The eavesdropping faces all around slowly slid halfway into view, but dissapeared again as numerous students, mostly girls, slipped off out the portrait hole and towards the Grand Staircase. Lauren glaced around momentarily, noticing the motion in the background. She recognized a few of them as members of the fanclub from that day they set the trap, but she didn't make a big note of it in her mind.

"You'll see," she said as she turned back to her friends. "I've got Care of Magical Creatures now and I actually like that class. I'll think it over and tell you afterwards. I'll meet you on the Grounds..." She looked from Rosemary to Sirius to James to Remus. "All of you."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter XI -- Rattling the Dog Cage

After Professor McGonagall had excused the Gryffindors from Transfiguration class, Sirius prepared himself for meeting Lauren outside on the Grounds. He waited until the class had mostly cleared out, save for James and Remus, before awakening from his cat(or dog)nap. The tall boy gathered up his belongings (what little he _did_ bring to class) and met his friends at the door. McGonagall watched as the trio left the classroom quickly.

Sirius had taken no more than three steps into the corridor before a brunette stepped lightly into his path. She wore a mingled look of happiness and curiosity, and something of a bit of a secretive gaze as well. It was Smith, the president of the fanclub.

"Good morning, Sirius." Her voice was light and soft as she ignored James and Remus; they shot her annoyed glances. Sirius shuffled backwards a few steps as she approached swiftly.

"I was just wondering..." She twirled a lock of her dark brown hair around a slender finger. "What are you doing tonight?"

Sirius' eyes narrowed annoyedly as she reached out and clung onto his robes. "Nothing with you." He tore away, a disgusted look on his face.

For a moment Smith looked horrified.

"I'll probably hang out with my girlfriend, if that's what you're asking." Sirius continued.

"_Girlfriend_?" Her face quickly changed. She looked furious, not bothering to plaster that usual sweet face on again.

"Yes," Sirius snapped back viciously. "Even if I _didn't_ have one I _still_ wouldn't spend my spare time on you. Now move." He pushed her aside rudely. "I have a girlfriend to meet."

James and Remus both stood, mouths open in disbelief, looking from Sirius to Smith and back again. Smith looked near to tears, although the look of pure hatred shone fiercely through the trembling hands she clapped onto her flaming cheeks. Sirius strode off looking quite triumphant as Smith stormed off, enraged, down the corridor in the opposite direction.

"What was that all about?" James asked in a slightly hushed voice.

Sirius shrugged, glancing sideways at him. "She annoyed me. I can't stand annoying people, you know that. I mean, just look at Snivellus."

James couldn't argue that. A smile spread across his face as he patted Sirius roughly on the back. "That's the Padfoot I know."

Remus couldn't help but be impressed as well. It was very rare that Sirius was _ever_ this rude to a member of the opposite gender, and he had finally stood up against one of them instead of ignoring them like usual. He knew that deep down, their occasional rudeness to this 'handsome fellow (in their opinion)' was often taken to heart, but that 'handsome fellow' never did anything about it. "Way to go." Remus said quietly.

Sirius shrugged again as they reached the doors to the Grounds and opened them. A bench just overlooking the lakeside caught their eyes as a pair of girls waved them over. Rosemary sat beneath a large tree that hung over the bench, casting shade there. Lauren sat near the middle of the bench itself, saving room for Sirius and whoever else wanted to join them there.

"I think I've got it all figured out." Lauren said as they all took their seats. Sirius, of course, sat on Lauren's left, Remus on her right. James parked himself on the hard ground not far in front of them all. They listened intently as she continued.

"She's started stuff about Rosemary and I--"

Lauren was cut off by Sirius' annoyed voice. "And she was coming on to me before we got here..."

"She _what_?" Lauren looked at him angrily for a few second before getting back on track. "Anyway... I say we give her a taste of her own medicine... Only we up the dosage a bit." She grinned darkly.

Rosemary couldn't help but let a small dark smile creep onto her own face. "What kind of rumors were you thinking, Tyra?"

"Maybe something along the lines of ' I heard Bridgette Smith sneaks into the Slytherin Boys' Dormitories at night.' or something like that. Of couse, that won't be the only one. That's where you guys come in." Lauren looked around at the boys.

"I don't know." James said uncertainly. "We're pranksters, not conniving, vicious females out to get revenge. This isn't exactly included in our area of expertise."

Lauren gave him a scornful look. "Oh, don't you give me that. With all the stuff you guys pull of random First Years, people you don't like, and _Snivellus_, you might as well be a bunch of girls."

"Yeah, but that would mean you'd be going out with one. And that's just not Lauren, now is it?" Sirius stopped taunting her before he put himself on the recieving end of another punch -- or worse.

"I resent that remark, Scutio." James twisted his face into a very convincing pout.

Lauren's nose wrinkled in mock-spite at him. "Ohh, suck it up and be a man. Or I'll just have to tell Lily about your behavior. What would she do then?"

James' pout quickly vanished as he donned a look of pure mischief. "She'd probably put me in time-out... maybe tell me what a bad boy I've been and take away my supper..."

Rosemary rolled her eyes and decided to change the subject. "How are we going to take what she's said about us?"

Lauren looked over firmly at where the Ravenclaw sat beneath the tree's wide branches. "We're not _going_ to take it. Why do you think I came up with our revenge?"

"That's not what I meant..." Rosemary answered almost under her breath as the others began coming up with other nasty rumors about Bridgette Smith.

------------

An hour later...

------------

As Sirius made his way casually towards his Defense Against The Dark Arts class, he was met by yet another girl who barred his path. By now he was beginning to get tired of this, but he looked down to see who it was anyways. This time it wasn't Smith. It was Lauren.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked demandingly.

"I'm going to Defense Against the Dark Arts, the class I have next..." He answered slowly, a little confused. "Why?"

She didn't answer him. "And where were you this morning when I told you to meet me outside? You were late." He noticed that her face looked flushed with anger.

Sirius' brow furrowed. "I told you already. I was leaving Transfiguration and that nutter Smith stopped me. She was coming on to me and it kinda slowed me down before I got rid of her."

"You lying, two-timing putrid heap of dragon dung." She spat, hatred flowing thick in her voice and shining in her seafoam eyes. "I've talked to Smith before and I've come to find out that she's a very nice girl. If anything, _you're_ the tramp."

Sirius hardly had time to catch the pun she threw into the statement; he was too distracted by what she had called him. "What's your problem?" He turned away slightly, confused and growing furious himself. How dare she talk to him like this?

"Maybe _you're_ my problem." She snarled viciously, taking a step dangerously towards him.

He stood where he was, not backing down. He didn't really mind the head-slaps and semi-rude comments, but this whole conversation had been a harsh slap in the face and anyone who knows anything about dogs knows that if you slap one it's going to attack back. "Ohh, so that's the way you feel?"

"Yeah, that's the way I feel."

Sirius restrained himself from harming her in any way. "Fine. I can take a hint." He snarled back. There was almost more hatred in him now than he had ever shown towards Snape; she had betrayed him and he wasn't going to stand for it. "Everything's off. You're _not_ my girlfriend anymore and you're _not_ allowed to have your seat next to me at our table and I'm certainly not helping you with that _whore_. You know what? Maybe she _is _right about you. You _are_ nothing but a traitor and I wouldn't be surprised if everything else she said about you is true."

Before she could say anything more, he shoved his way past her and stormed off towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

Inside the DADA room, Sirius found his seat and sat furiously down. His things hardly made it onto his desk before they went sliding onto the floor from how forcefully he set them down. He didn't bother picking them up.

Both James and Remus noticed his strange behavior and looked over, surprised. Never before had they seen him this downright furious. They exchanged glances and for once they looked almost nervous, as though they didn't want to set him off in any way.

The whole class period was like that. Sirius hardly did anything, which wasn't out of the ordinary. But when class let out and he finally stood to leave, no one moved a muscle. He looked around, a little confused, but still got no response from the crowd inside the room. For once, Sirius was the first out of the classroom in his whole time at Hogwarts.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter XII -- Confusion

"What's going on?" James asked Sirius casually when they were in the common room. He had finally managed to work up the courage to ask Sirius what was wrong, but he wouldn't admit to anyone that he was afraid.

Sirius shot him an angry glance before softening his features. "It's Scutio."

James stopped a moment. Sirius never called Lauren by her last name. It was almost a formality, something you call another person you don't know that well or don't like too much and thus don't care to know. What had happened to that happy-as-a-puppy-at-playtime attitude he had about this girl? He dared not ask, but waited for Sirius to continue.

"She stopped me in the corridor before class to yell at me about why I was 'late' meeting you guys outside." He didn't sound too happy. "Called me a 'lying, two-timing putrid heap of dragon dung' or something like that."

"Ouch."

"So I broke up with her and said I wouldn't help her with anything anymore. She's also not sitting with me at lunch any longer, so if she--"

The portrait hole opened and in stepped a few students. Lauren was among them. She immediately stepped over happily and took a seat next to Sirius on the great red couch. "Hey. What's up? Why are you two in here and not pranking someone or something like usual?"

James cast a nervous glance at Sirius. Sirius gave Lauren a dark look and stood immediately, placing himself promptly in an armchair some ways away.

"Umm, Lauren..." James' warm brown eyes flashed from Sirius to the strawberry blonde before him. "I wouldn't--"

"What's going on?" Lauren asked, looking to Sirius concerned manner.

He stared at James, acting as though she wasn't in the room. "You know very well what's going on." He spat, not looking away from James, who tried to lighten the mood a bit by relaxing casually.

"Umm... No I don't." Lauren said blatantly. Her eyes fell on the boy who now refused to acknowledge her presence. She turned to James. "Why's he acting like this?"

Sirius rose, still quite angry, and left the common room with a huff.

James looked to Lauren. "You should know why he's upset." He said, before leaving the common room as well.

"What was that all about?" A voice asked from the stairs somewhere behind Lauren. It was Rosemary, followed shortly by Remus. The two joined Lauren in front of the enchanted fireplace as a few students in the room looked over momentarily to see what all the fuss was about.

"Something's wrong with Sirius and neither him nor James will tell me." Lauren said as Rosemary pulled a few chocolate frogs out of the pocket of her robes. She offered one to each of them before opening one herself. The frog leapt onto a table nearby before Rosemary muttered "Flippendo" and it lay still, stunned.

"Poor thing." Rosemary said softly. "I hate doing that to them, even though they're only chocolate. And then eating them is kind of difficult, because all I can think about is eating a _real_ frog... But boy, are they good." She snatched up the case and took the card from it as Remus and Lauren opened their chocolate frogs.

"I'm not sure what's wrong..." Lauren said, casting a spell at her own frog. "All Sirius said when I asked him was that I should know what's going on. And I thought _guys_ were the ones that were supposed to forget things and then get in trouble for it."

"Ohh, I got Dumbledore." Rosemary clicked her tongue. "I already have that card. Maybe I can trade it for a Godric Gryffindor. Who did you get, Remus?"

"Are you listening?!" Lauren nearly hissed, taking a bite out of her chocolate frog.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am." Rosemary answered. "I don't know what you should do... Maybe you could have me or Remus ask Sirius what's wrong."

"I'm not sure about that." Lauren said between bites. "If I have you ask, Rosemary, he might just think that you and I are in cahoots with whatever went on and that you're on my side."

Rosemary shrugged.

"Maybe I'd better do it then." Remus said, looking over his card. "I got Merlin. Want to trade?"

"Is that all you two can think about-- those cards?!" Lauren asked, her voice growing loud. "Can't we talk about _me_ instead of those stupid things?"

Rosemary gave a smirk. "Maybe you were too self-centered around Sirius and that's why he's mad."

"That shouldn't have mattered." Remus joked. "Both him and James are used to arrogance. They throw enough of it around... Who'd you get, Lauren?"

"I got an antler jinx with your name on it." She said annoyedly. Remus quieted down, knowing she probably might mean that. There was a moment of silence before Rosemary spoke again.

"You know, Halloween's next week. I'm guessing there's some big prank planned for it already?" She didn't look up from the card she held in her hand as she watched the miniature Dumbledore dissapear.

Lauren scoffed. "After what's going on I'm not sure we're going to be invited, Rosemary."

Rosemary shook her head slightly and sighed. "I guess you should go find out what's going on, Remus. I'm sure Lauren doesn't want to miss out on this one; it should be promising, considering the turnout of last year's prank."

He nodded and said goodbye to the girls before exiting the common room in search of James and Sirius. Thankfully, this time he still had the Marauders' Map they were so famous for.

"I just hope nobody dies," Rosemary continued, pulling her hat out of the pocket of her robes and donning it. "Snape was lucky enough, but I can't say whether someone else will escape their mischevious clutches."

------------

A week passed and Sirius still wasn't speaking with, let alone acknowledging, Lauren. Rosemary was surprised to find that he would talk with her and that he had not seen some invisible tie between her and Lauren that would put them both in the same situation with him; he had seen no alliance, apparently.

Lauren spent her mealtimes sitting next to Rosemary, as Remus had switched seats with the Slytherin. Though she and Sirius were eye-to-eye, neither of them spent any time looking at eachother. It greatly annoyed Lauren that he was ignoring her so and his change in behavior left her without him actually acting like he was her boyfriend any longer. Eventually, James broke it to her that Sirius had broken up with her, but found it quite odd that she swore she didn't remember him saying that... or anything, for that matter. James didn't mention this to Sirius, however, and kept it to himself mostly. No need to get Sirius all worked up at him because of someone else, even if she _was_ their friend. Everything would sort itself out in the end... wouldn't it?


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter XIII -- Pumpkin Juice

The Great Hall was all aglow with candles and floating jack-o-lanterns. Some spell blocked out all light from entering the windows despite the fact that it was already well into morning when the group had taken their seats. The ceiling had also had a spell put on it, and billions of stars shone brightly in the night sky overhead, and although it was not real, the sight of the silvery full moon perched in the midst of those stars made Remus feel a little feverish.

There were to be no classes today, as it was Halloween day; the students rejoiced in this fact. Tonight, in honor of the holiday, students would wear costumes (or clever spells) and go "trick-or-treating" from classroom to classroom, getting all sorts of sweets from teachers. Those students that had grown up with muggle-style childhoods were thankful at Dumbledore's change of pace.

A group of bats swooped low over the Gryffindor table and a few girls screamed as they ate their breakfasts.

"Don't they know those bats won't harm them?" Rosemary asked, slightly annoyed. "Bats use echolocation to keep them from running into things and they don't attack humans, no matter what those old movies tell you."

"Would Dumbledore honestly put real bats in the Great Hall, anyways?" James asked.

"Well, this _is_ Dumbledore we're talking about here..." Lauren mentioned.

Sirius looked over at the messy-haired Gryffindor nearby. "I'm glad there are no classes today."

"Why? Have you got some great prank to pull and you need all day to do it?" Rosemary asked with a smile.

"Nope." Sirius said. "We're not doing any pranks this Halloween."

"Why not?!" James asked, surprised. He was obviously looking forward to that part of today.

"Because." Sirius said simply. "I said so."

"This is madness." James grumbled. "Just because you're in a fight with your girlfriend, I can't have any fun at all."

Sirius cast him a warning glance as Lauren folded her arms and looked away. They had still not told her what he was so upset about, and though she had sort of gotten past it now, she was still upset. Looking around, she noticed many students up and wandering about, which was a little unusual. Somewhere ahead, Dumbledore rose as if he was going to make a speech. Everyone turned his way as the Great Hall grew silent, thankful that there was something that was going to break this awkward and uneasy conversation.

But Dumbledore merely switched seats with another teacher. Everyone settled and began talking again. The Marauders turned back to their breakfast, most of them hopeful that someone would come up with another conversation that would not start a fight.

"Well, that's interesting." Rosemary said, studying the ceiling. "Dumbedore's made it look like the night sky for today. I guess he wants to go all out this year."

There were a few nods, but mostly no one talked. Lauren stared at her empty plate, James looked down the table somewhere towards Lily, Remus took a drink from his goblet, and Sirius picked idlely at his fingernails. Seeing this, Rosemary frowned and picked at her food. But she didn't have to stay bored for long.

Remus had just set his goblet down when he started to cough. Only a few people looked over. But when his cough grew and he began to look very pale in the face, everyone looked his way.

"Are you okay?" James asked as Remus continued to cough.

There was no answer. Remus looked a little surprised at what was going on as he struggled for breath. Sirius, Lauren, and Rosemary looked over, concerned.

"Maybe it's just from the moon Dumbledore put on the ceiling." Lauren suggested. "He probably forgot... about the furry little problem." She decided not to say it openly for fear that someone would overhear.

"Would you like to go to the Hospital Wing?" James asked.

Remus nodded. As the whole group left for the Hospital Wing, Remus' coughing grew and grew, until he sounded as though he was about to literally cough up a lung. Madam Pomfrey rushed over as they entered the infirmary.

"What happened?" She asked urgently as the coughing subsided. Remus took a seat on an empty bed there and held his head.

"I'm not sure," He said shakily. "I just took a drink of my pumpkin juice and then I started feeling odd..."

"Well, you rest, dear." She said before looking to the others. "Bring me that pumpkin juice."

When they returned with Remus' goblet, Madam Pomfrey took it from them. She took it over to a desk in the corner and pulled out a book. Lifting the goblet to her nose, she sniffed it and frowned. Before any of them could stop her, she took a tiny taste of the juice and began flipping through the pages frantically. Her finger stopped on a page, resting just on a paragraph somewere towards the middle of the page. Madam Pomfrey looked up, straight at Lauren. "Get Professor Dumbledore."

"What's wrong, Madma Pomfrey?" Sirius asked as Rosemary volunteered to go with Lauren.

"There's something in this pumpkin juice." She said gravely. "It tastes metallic."

It was then that Lauren, Rosemary, Sirius and James came to the same realization. The girls hurried out of the infirmary, towards Dumbledore's office.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter XIV -- Accidents Will Happen

Sirius, Rosemary, James, and Lauren all sat quietly in the ironically bright infirmary, awaiting news about their best friend, Remus. For a moment, everything was silent as the Headmaster stood a ways off, talking in a hushed voice with Madam Pomfrey. James looked up at the other three.

"What do you think it is?" He asked, knowing somewhere deep inside that all of their worst fears could be realized. For a long moment, nobody answered him.

Sirius' silver-blue eyes shifted James' way. "Do you really have to ask?" He asked quietly. "It's obviously silver, the bane of the werewolf. The real question is how did it get in his goblet?"

"And who knew enough about Remus to know that he was a werewolf in the first place?" Rosemary pointed out as well. "If someone knows about _him_, they could know about all of us."

"Who would want to kill Remus, anyways?" Lauren asked. "What has he ever done to anyone? Looked at them funny?"

James let out a small, almost sad laugh at Lauren before speaking. "Maybe Remus wasn't the direct target."

"Use your head, Prongs." Sirius said annoyedly. "Who else in here is a werewolf? None of us. Silver wouldn't work on any of us. Remus was obviously the target here."

"Are we sure there was malicious intent behind this?" Rosemary asked. "After all, it could have just been some harmless prank..." She paused before adding very softly, "Like on you guys would pull."

Sirius turned to the Ravenclaw almost angerly. "Why would we ever pull a prank so stupid it could kill someone? What makes you think we're that cold-hearted?"

"What if it was Snape?" She asked, looking to him boldly. "If he was the person behind this, would you honestly sit back and let him try to kill you and your friends? I know you better than that, Mister Sirius Black. You'd go after him with everything you've got, even if it could possibly mean his death. Or yours."

Sirius turned away, though it was hard to tell whether he was angry or just too stubborn to give in to the truth. Before anything more could be said, Dumbledore walked over slowly. They all looked up into his silvery, bearded face.

"I believe you four would like an answer for this?" He asked calmly. They nodded. "I'm afraid, at this point, Madam Pomfrey cannot diagnose the problem without further background information on your friend. Neither can she fix what has happened without this information." He paused a moment. "As Headmaster to Hogwarts, I had the right to know about Mister Lupin in order to admit him into my school. As I promised seven years ago, I have not told a soul about his condition. Now, in his last year, I may have to reveal that information that was trusted me. I'll kindly ask your permission as his friends before confiding in Madam Pomfrey."

There was almost no wait before they all four answered the same thing: yes. With a short, polite nod, the man returned to where he spoke to the nurse and began to speak with her again.

James checked the time briefly. "I completely forgot. The Gryffindor/Ravenclaw match is in thirty minutes. I haven't changed yet." He stood to leave. "Stay here, if you like," he told them. "I've got to go, or McGonagall will kill me. See you after the match." Gryffindor could not do without their Chaser.

"Shall we go watch the match or stay here?" Rosemary asked Lauren and Sirius. Before either of them could answer, Dumbledore appeared somewhere behind them. They nearly jumped when he spoke.

"Go watch the match, if you like. I assure you Remus will fare no worse if you leave. In the meantime, I will stay here with Madam Pomfrey and get everything sorted out." He gave them a wink before leaving once more for the far side of the room.

------------

The Quidditch Pitch was alive with the shouts and cheers of eager students, all awaiting the arrival of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw players on the field. Amongst the Gryffindors, two students stuck out: a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw. Three guesses who they were.

Although the match was against her own house, Rosemary held a Gryffindor banner high and tried to concentrate more on the players that now swooped over the grassy area than how high up she was. There was no doubt that at least a few Ravenclaws (and no doubt all of the Slytherins) resented the fact that members of their own house would dare root for an opposing team, but the girls didn't care. They'd cheer on their friends even if they were from completely different schools.

Madam Hooch stood in the center of the short green field, whistle in mouth and quaffle in hand. Someone to the sidelines let the Golden Snitch out to freely flit through the skies above the Pitch. All fourteen brooms, along with their riders, rose simultaniously into the air. Madam Hooch let out a shrill whistle and they were off like greyhounds out of their chutes at a race. The Quaffle was passed from a first Gryffindor to a second, then to James, who raced for the Ravenclaw goalpost. He swerved between the posts, manuvering quite skillfully as he searched the skies for his teammates. Then, it was back to the second Gryffindor Chaser, who lost the quaffle to a Ravenclaw Chaser. James ducked as a Bludger whizzed by his ear, narrowly missing his head.

The Ravenclaw Chaser passed the Quaffle to a teammate, who shot at the Gryffindor goal posts like a bullet. The Gryffindor Keeper hovered a moment in the air, not moving as the Ravenclaw and Quaffle zipped up to her. Before they collided, the Ravenclaw swept his broom underneath the Keeper, who was in shock. He threw the Quaffle into the goal as the announcer shouted the score. A simultanious boo went up in the Gryffindor side.

The Quaffle was back in Ravenclaw hands, but not for long. James took his broom low to the ground; so low, in fact, that he could easily put his foot onto the grass. He watched casually as the Quaffle was passed from player to player, even taking the time to "tidy his hair," not that it was actually possible.

"What's he doing?" Lauren asked. "Showing off again? We're going to lose the game if he doesn't get his butt into gear!"

Rosemary let out a small smile. "Ohh, he's showing off, all right. Watch." She nodded in his direction.

James stopped in mid-tidy, his eyes locking onto the Quaffle.

"He's waiting for the right moment to pounce." Rosemary said, a slight excitement in her voice. "This should be his best trick yet."

All at once, the sixth year kicked off hard from the ground, nearly laying on his broom as the wind whipped his hair into a horrible mess. He smirked as he rose at unimaginable speed, nearly vertically, towards the Ravenclaw player that held the Quaffle. Everything moved in near-slow motion.

Like a peregrine falcon on a rat he hit his prey, knocking the Ravenclaw off balance. He shot towards the skies, showing no sign of slowing as two of the Ravenclaw Chasers dared attempt keeping up with him. In mid air he turned his broom around and dove straight for the ground from which he came.

Rosemary crossed her fingers and winced somewhere in the stands.

Once again, dodging Bludgers and random players all over the field, James swept his broom upwards, towards the Ravenclaw goal post. He was almost there when a Ravenclaw Beater struck a Bludger that was coming his way. It went screaming past James, and nearly hit the Ravenclaw Keeper. The Ravenclaw Keeper faltered a moment, and James saw his opportunity. But as he made his way towards the highest hoop, he noticed something odd about his broom... It wavered slightly. He glanced back to see the tail end of his Nimbus 1500 aflame. Startled, he quickly faced forward, determined to somehow make this shot... But by then it was too late.

He collided head-on with the goal post. He heard his broom (or was that his skull?) give a nasty crack before he felt himself plumetting down, down, down onto the field below. As his body made contact with the ground, he heard a few more cracks and his head swam. In what seemed like eternity, a few faced floated above his own and a whistle sounded, and though he knew it couldn't be too far off, it sounded like it was miles away.

"James? James!" He heard an angel's voice call frantically. He struggled to focus as a beautiful redhead kneeled over him. He could barely make out her face.

A dark-haired person hovered with her as well. He could only guess this was Sirius. "That was quite a nasty fall.. Are you okay?"

He couldn't answer. He felt himself slowly but surely slipping out of consciousness.

"No, don't let him go to sleep." A familiar female voice said from somewhere far, far in the distance. "He's probably got a concussion, and he could slip into a coma... James, wake up!"

He tried with all his might to stay awake, but he found his eyes closing out of their own will. Everything faded slowly; all sights, all sounds, and all senses. And then, everything went dark.

Sirius, Lauren, and Rosemary watched as James was carried to the Hospital Wing. Lily walked close behind, mirroring every step almost frantically. Madam Hooch returned to the center of the Pitch, talking something over with a few of the other players. The trio stood there, almost in shock before Sirius turned to Rosemary.

"You saw that, right? His broom? There's no way it could have caught fire on its own... Still think there's no malicious intent?" He asked almost viciously, perhaps a little more harshly than he had meant. But Sirius didn't stop to correct it. He turned away from where the girls stood and walked bitterly off in the direction of the castle, not bothering to keep up with the others that carried James.

"Some trick," Lauren muttered.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter XV -- Important Matters

"For Merlin's sake," Madam Pomfrey said a little annoyedly. "Please step aside." The woman pushed past the crowd that had gathered around James' bedside in the infirmary. They all wore the same clothes: Gryffindor Quidditch uniforms. His whole team had come to see that he was alright. Only one student stood out among the rest: Lily Evans, who had not left his side since they left the Pitch.

Sirius entered the infirmary, followed shortly by Lauren and Rosemary. They both wore worried looks, unlike Sirius, who kept his well-hidden behind an angry face. Sirius, too, pushed through the crowd while the girls waited impatiently to be let in.

"I tried, Professor," They heard McGonagall say hurriedly to the Headmaster. "I'm afraid I was knocked off balance in the stands for a moment while he was falling... I only hope for his sake I managed to succeed in casting that levitating charm..." Her voice faded for a moment into something of a hushed whisper. Rosemary and Lauren vaguely wondered what it was she was saying.

"Come, now," Madam Pomfrey's voice rose again from somewhere between all the bodies and the bed. "Mister Potter needs his rest. I'll let Professor McGonagall know what the diagnosis is and she'll tell you all. For now, however, I need some space so I can work." She casually shooed the rest of the Gryffindor team out the door, Lily in tow. Her quick, eagle eyes settled harshly on Sirius, Lauren, and Rosemary next as she decided whether they'd get in the way or not.

Whether he was shooed out or not, Sirius was determined to stay in the infirmary, facing the enraged nurse if need be. James was his best friend, and there was no way he was leaving him, along with the sleeping Remus nearby, just because some woman told him to. He sat nearby, out of the way enough so that Madam Pomfrey could work her magic.

Rosemary watched, momentarily torn between joining Sirius and joining Lauren. She finally opted for joining Lauren, who waited patiently for McGonagall to finish talking with Dumbledore. The woman pursed her lips, a stern, worried look signature of Minerva McGonagall slipping onto her face. She turned from Dumbledore, glancing briefly at James before returning to the duties that awaited her in the Gryffindor common room. She'd explain what she knew to the team so that they didn't storm up here again demanding answers, throwing Madam Pomfrey into a mad rampage.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Lauren looked up at the old man, into those understanding silvery-blue eyes."I need to talk to you... in your office. Please." She tried not to sound too urgent, but she had matters that needed discussing. Nearby, Rosemary wondered if she should join them or if this was something she'd be best in staying out of.

As if answering her question for her, Lauren looked concernedly over and shook her head slowly. Rosemary nodded once in understanding. She would stay.

"How is he?" Sirius asked Madam Pomfrey gruffly as she looked James over. He nodded shortly towards Remus when she finally turned his way. Her face was suddenly worried and frustrated as she let out a short breath. Rosemary joined Sirius on a seat nearby to hear what she had to say.

"I guess since you're both so close to him..." Madam Pomfrey's brow furrowed as she paused, but she moved it off of her face to replace it with a slightly expressionless look. "Dumbledore told me of his... condition. He also told me that you guessed it was silver that was in his goblet. You were right." Sirius and Rosemary exchanged brief glances as she continued. "He's been asleep most of this time, but it hasn't been too restful... Fits and noises, all night sometimes. Almost errie, to tell you the truth, but you don't worry about that, now."

She looked away from the boy towards the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. "I'm sorry to say that I haven't found anything in my books so far that could help. Thankfully, however, it isn't a full moon and he didn't ingest too much of it, or else it might have killed him." Rosemary shifted nervously, but Sirius did nothing. She knew he wasn't simply uncaring, but hiding it. Madam Pomfrey went on. "He should be awake enough in a day or two, and probably out of here altogether once it's out of his system."

"Now Mister Potter, on the other hand," She said a little firmly. "Needs his rest and I need to get to my work. You do want him feeling better, don't you?"

"Yes," The Ravenclaw said, for Sirius said nothing. His patience was probably shot for today and he wasn't going to listen to someone who was just going to get upset at him. He'd had enough of that in the last few days to last him for a while now.

Somewhere seven floors away, Lauren sat in Dumbledore's office. She looked down at her hands, her brow furrowed as she tried to form the right sentences in her head. Dumbledore sat patiently in that gigantic chair of his, that calm expression floating gently on his smile-wrinkled face. Lauren finally looked up.

"Lately, I've been having some problems." There came a short pause, politely taken by the man. "It all started, I guess, with this girl who's been hitting on Sirius. She's the president of his 'fanclub'." She scowled. "Sirius, Rosemary, and I were looking for Remus and James, but we couldn't search the whole castle ourselves. We had the _bright idea _that asking the fanclub could help. They'd do anything for him, you know. None of us knew where to find them, so we set up a trap. It worked. The president got her people to send out a search for James and Remus while the rest of us went back to the Gryffindor common room to wait for the results."

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully as he listened.

"When we got back to the common room, James and Remus were there. They had been in the sixth year Boy's Dormitory the whole time." She muttered something to herself about being stupid for not letting Sirius go upstairs to see if the Map was there and how they wouldn't have gotten in this mess if she had just went along with it, but Dumbledore pretended not to notice. "Well, Little Miss... _Priss_... decided to start hitting on my man right in front of everyone and I got sick of it."

Lauren paused. Should she confess what she had done? After all, by now Dumbledore would have already figured it out.

"I kind of, umm..." She scratched her head nervously. "Taught her a lesson, if you will. Let's just say she won't be crossing my path again if she knows what's best for her."

The headmaster showed no visible response to her comment, but waited for her to continue. Lauren was surprised that she wasn't getting into trouble for this, but then again this _was_ Dumbledore she was talking to.

"The next morning, Rosemary showed me some flyer on the notice board in the Gryffindor common room. Apparently, that girl had gotten her people to put it up. I'm sure you saw it; how could you not notice?" She sounded quite upset. "That was a few of weeks ago. Then, Sirius all of a sudden got upset at me and I don't know why. James knows, but all he's said is that I should know why he's upset. And then Remus and James both get hurt and end up in the Hospital Wing and I don't know what to do." She threw up her arm frustratedly. "Do you have any advice?"

The man scratched his chin and looked down at the sixth year through half-moon spectacles. "I take it my spell did not work out the way I planned?"

Lauren looked at him annoyedly for a moment. "No, it didn't."

"Well, in that case, I suggest talking it over with him." He leaned forward in his throne-like chair, elbows resting on his desk. "Perhaps you can get him to tell you what you did wrong, even if you did nothing at all." There was a slight glint in those mysterious blue eyes of his.

Lauren looked towards the window nearby, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Thanks, Dumbledore. I'll go ask right now, but prepare for another one-on-one meeting in about..." She checked an invisible watch. "Twenty minutes."

Dumbledore couldn't help but smile as the Slytherin left the office for the Hospital Wing, vaguely reminded of some memory from ages ago.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter XVI -- Ammends

Lauren Scutio walked into the infirmary briskly, looking around briefly for a certain dark-haired boy. Her eyes rested on his still form sitting somewhere near a pair of occupied hospital beds. Not far off sat Rosemary, who wore nearly the same face as him.

"What're you doing?" Lauren asked, confused for a moment. The girl looked up.

"Nothing. Mister Grumpy Butt won't talk, so I've been sitting here this whole time doing absolutely nothing at all." She jerked her thumb in his direction as he cast her a resentful look. "Well, hey," She said in response. "It's true, isn't it?" There was no answer.

"Well, I need to have a talk with Mister Grumpy Butt." Lauren said to the Ravenclaw. "Would you mind..." Her voice trailed off as she tried not to sound too rude or too urgent at that. Rosemary nodded and said goodbye, getting no response from either of them before exiting the infirmary. She'd leave the room, but there was no rule that said she had to leave the premise. She could still listen in from outside.

Lauren took a seat in a chair next to Sirius, who stared intently at his feet, a frown playing across his usually happy face. "For a couple of weeks now you haven't been talking to me. You've been walking away and ignoring me when I'm around and just plain having a pout-fest even when I'm _not_ around."

Sirius' response was not the kind she was looking for. He shrugged his shoulder over and scowled, trying desperately to block her out. It obviously wasn't working. She decided, however, that the best approach would be to keep talking, but speak a little less harshly. _More flies with honey_, she thought.

"You say I should know why you're upset with me, but you never tell me what that reason is. I honestly don't know what it is, but for a moment would you just humor me?" He looked up at her as she continued. "What exactly did I do?"

Sirius sat up a little straighter, but looked away again. "You remember that meeting you called outside on the Grounds a couple of weeks ago, right?"

"Yeah."

"After I left for Defense Against the Dark Arts, you stopped me in the corridor. You yelled at me for being late to the meeting and I tried to remind you that Smith had stopped me before the meeting, just like you had, and gotten in the way. You seemed to have forgotten that fact, though." He paused. "You also called me a 'lying, two-timing putrid heap of dragon dung.' And then you called me a tramp and said that I was a problem. You can imagine what my reaction was, even if you don't remember it."

"That's the problem: I don't remember that because I never said it and I never would."

"Well, if you didn't say it, who did? Have you got some evil twin hanging around this castle that you're not telling me about?"

Lauren shifted a little, although it wasn't out of nervousness. "I don't have a twin. Maybe it never even was me, because I really don't remember it. Think about it." She counted off on her fingers. "You get yelled at by me, but I don't remember ever even yelling at you, let alone _thinking_ about yelling at you. Then, silver somehow _magically_ ends up in Remus' goblet. Now, James' broom caught on fire for no reason at all and he's in the infirmary because of it. Personally, I think Rosemary was wrong." She looked firmly at him, pausing for dramatic effect. "I think there's someone behind all of this."

Sirius nodded.

"So..." She said casually. "You're talking to me again. Does this mean we're cool now?"

He couldn't help but smile and she took that as a yes.

"Good, because I've really been wanting to give you something."

Sirius looked over, mildly interested, and was met with a kiss.

Somewhere near the door, there came a voice: "Awww..."

They both looked over, slightly shocked. It was Rosemary.

"How long have you been standing there?" Lauren demanded.

Rosemary grinned and walked over. "Long enough to see something that's really sweet, but I'll probably end up regretting later." She joined them nearby. "So, before this goes any further with you two, what was this I heard about someone being behind this?"

Lauren continued to stare at her. "You were eavesdropping, weren't you?"

"You're just not going to get past this, are you?" Rosemary laughed.

"I asked you a question first."

"Technically, I asked the first question because--"

"Would you two just quit it already?" Sirius spoke up. "I'm sick of this arguing."

Lauren had a comment for him, but decided to keep it to herself. After all, they had just made ammends and she didn't exactly want things going back to the way they had been for a while now. She gave him an understanding look and faced Rosemary. "Before you walked so rudely in, we were talking about why Sirius was mad at me and how coincidentally both James and Remus are laid up in the hospital. Personally, I think someone's behind it all."

"But who in the _world_ would do something like this?" She asked sarcastically. "There's only Snape and Smith and the _whole_ fanclub, not to mention all the First Years since _I _was a first year, and that one guy from Care of Magical Creatures last month. The real question is who _hasn't_ put a hit out on you guys yet?"

"You guys?" Lauren asked. "You're included in that 'you guys', you know. You _do_ hang out with us."

Rosemary couldn't argue that. "Who have _we_ managed to make mad recently?" She, like the others, most likely, had an inkling, but was almost afraid to hear it from them.

"The only person I can think of would be--" Lauren was cut short by Sirius.

"Smith." He looked at the girls. "I have a feeling this isn't everything she's got up that sleeve of hers. We should do something before one of us is next."

"Like get her before she gets us?" Lauren suggested.

"But how?" Rosemary asked. "We've got to come up with a plan soon, and we don't even have James' prankster prowess or Remus' genius to help us."

Lauren shook her head. "But we've got us. We could come up with something _and_ pull it off before she even suspected that we suspected a thing. After all, we _did_ come up with the trap we used on the fanclub. I'm brilliant enough to come up with another one. And Sirius has enough prank in him to add to mine and pull off something great."

"Hey," Rosemary said offendedly. "What about me?"

"I think we could just barely manage with you..." She looked around innocently.

"Hey!"

Sirius tried not to laugh. "What's your plan, O Great and Mighty Queen of Traps? This doesn't involve me being the bait again, does it?" But Lauren hardly had time to answer.

"It's getting late," Rosemary observed as the thunderous chimes of the Hogwarts clock tower sounded through the castle's insides. "We should go to the common room before Madam Pomfrey decides to kick us out."

The trio left for the Gryffindor common room, all the while trying to formulate a plan. As they reached the comforts of the warm, familiar room, Lauren found she could not concentrate on revenge very well, and was too happy that Sirius was finally speaking to her again. Rosemary, Lauren, and Sirius all took seats on the large crimson couch facing the enchanted fireplace. They talked and talked, even if they ended up talking about nothing at all. They were all happy, it seemed, to have things back to normal for the most part.

A few hours later, Rosemary found herself yawning and said her goodbyes before leaving for her dormitory in the Ravenclaw tower. Lauren and Sirius stayed together in the common room until both were too tired to talk or do much of anything. Finally, Sirius told her goodnight (and even managed to sneak in a much-missed kiss) before he, too, retired to his dormitory. Lauren fell asleep not long after, pleasant dreams floating through her mind. The soft couch would be good enough for her; she was too tired to wake up and relocate to her four-poster.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter XVII -- Missing Persons

Note/Disclaimer thing: The song in the following chapter is not mine. It's a song by Evanescence titled Hello. Not mine. Theirs.

"_Playground school bell rings_

_again_

_Rainclouds come to play_

_again..."_

Singing. He heard it faintly, somewhere far off. The dim-lit corridor threw echoes, and he turned circles trying to locate it. That voice... so familiar, and yet he couldn't place it.

"_Has no one told you_

_she's not breathing?_" It taunted sweetly.

She. Where was she? He had to get there fast, he felt it in his bones.

"_Hello..._"

That voice...

"_I am your mind..._"

'No, you're not.' He told it silently, determinedly. He finally picked a direction and began to run, down, down, down the cold stone corridor.

"_Giving you someone to talk to... Hello._"

There! A light, a single floating candle wavering slightly, dancing to the softly hissing song. It glowed hauntingly in a room just ahead. His heart slapped angerly against his ribs. Was he too late?

Inside was a fireplace and a few items of furniture... The Gryffindor common room. On the couch she lay. He stepped over, silent so as not to wake her from her peaceful slumber. His hand reached out gently, but went through her as he tried to touch her soft, pink cheek. He recoiled, surprised.

There... in the darkness... someone lurked. The someone moved towards her still form slowly and at first he was confused... And then it pounced. She gave a silent scream as she was dragged from her slumber into the darkness from whence it came.

To his horror, he could do nothing but watch as the voice taunted him again:

"_I'm still here_

_all that's left of yesterday..._"

Silver-blue eyes flew open with a start. Sirius Black sat up in his four-poster and wiped away a cold sweat from his brow. He struggled to catch his breath as he stopped to make sense of the nightmare he had just lived. He looked around. Nothing. No singing, no lights, no couch... and no Her.

He threw off his covers and slipped as silently as he could manage out of the dormitory, grabbing his wand as he went. It was silly, yes... but he had to be sure. He had to make sure that she was alright. His footsteps were as noiseless as a hunting dog's, only a slight pitterpatter on the cold stone. He peered around the corner into the common room.

"Lumos," He whispered, light from the still-burning fire fluttering across his face. The couch. He located it in the darkness and stepped over. Sirius lowered the dim-lit tip of his wand to seat level.

Nothing.

She was gone.

He whirled around, searching for the someone he'd seen before. Still nothing.

'Maybe she went back to where she sleeps in the Ravenclaw tower,' he said to himself. 'Check there before jumping to conclusions.'

He muttered a counterspell and put out the light. His hand shoved his wand back into his pocket and in an instant he leapt for the portrait hole. As he did, a gigantic black dog took his place. The portrait hole swung open and he tore out, silent as a fleeting shadow. He made short work of the intricate corridors; he'd seen Rosemary and Lauren leave for the Ravenclaw common room before and almost knew the way now. Even then, his nose could detect Lauren's scent.

Yes, he'd follow that. No use searching high and low if she'd just slipped off to the lavatory, after all. He picked a particularly dark corner in the Great Hall and lifted his nose to the air.

'_This floor. The seventh._" He told himself in Dog-speak. He bolted for the passage to the classrooms nearby.

Her scent was strong at first, but soon it mingled with another scent. He'd recognized it at once, but couldn't quite place whose scent it was. It stung his nose and made his eyes water as he quickened his pace. He had to keep up with it before it dissapated into the area. Then he'd never find her.

His search was soon halted as he found where she'd gone. He looked up at the shimmering stone wall. Absolutely nothing. He hissed a few swear words to himself and began pacing. Where in the world had she gotten to? But after about four or five passes, he'd decided that this was never going to work. He needed help finding her, and this was one of the few times he'd admit it.

Back towards the Hospital Wing it was. He didn't know the Ravenclaw password, but maybe James or Remus would. He prayed that they'd be in good enough shape to help in some way.

The door to the infirmary creaked open as a massive shadowy canine slipped in. His nails clicked against the floor as he made a bee-line for the beds that held his friends. They were both asleep, as most sane people were at this hour. Padfoot reared up and set his large paws on the side of James' bed. He drove his moist leathery nose into his classmate's face. Perhaps a cold nose would wake him.

Nothing. Not even a stir out of the boy. Not wanting to be caught as a human, he'd have to do this as a dog. After all, he was better at his stealth when in his Animagus form. He mustered up all of his courage and moved into James' face again. With a final sigh he got his tongue all drooly and smothered James in it. With a gack, he pulled away and began licking his leg. Anything but that taste again.

"AUGGHH!!" James sputtered to life, trying to wipe the muck and slime from his face. He looked from the clear slobber that now covered his hands to the young dog nearby, still licking furiously at his leg. The dog looked up pitifully and transformed into his true self.

"Keep your voice down, James." Sirius said quietly. "And you might want to shower soon. You taste awful."

"What are you licking me for?!" James asked as quietly as he could manage after such an incident.

"I said keep your voice down!" A hiss sounded from the other sixth year. "There's something I need your help with. First, though, how's Remus doing? Is he well enough to help out?"

James sighed annoyedly. "I don't know. I've been sleeping, which is what you should be doing."

Sirius glanced over at the other bed reluctantly. "I guess this means I have to wake him up, too."

"Please," James said firmly. "Spare him the torture you didn't spare me."

"Then how do you suggest I wake him up?" Sirius asked.

"Like any normal human would: Shake him." He sounded as though it should have been that obvious.

"What, and risk waking someone?"

"Well, you don't want him having the same reaction _I _did, do you?" James growled sleepily. "_That's_ a sure-fire way to keep everyone in the castle asleep."

Sirius scowled. "Cut the sarcasm. If you can think of a better way, _you_ wake him."

For a long moment, James stared at Sirius. He was thinking... But nothing came. "Fine. We'll leave him be. It's a miracle he's finally calmed down now. He kept me up half the day yesterday... Did you know he talks in his sleep? Very loudly, too, especially after that goblet incident."

"Fine." Sirius sighed. "We'll leave him here. Just get your butt out of that hospital bed and help me. Madam Pomfrey must have found out what in the world was wrong with you and now you're better. So get up."

James grumbled and got up slowly, savoring the last moments of his pitiful, bedridden existence. "Yeah. I _only_ broke about a hundred bones." He said sarcastically. "Luckily McGonagall saved me, or that fall could have meant my death. But, no, you don't care."

"Ohh, quit your pouting." Sirius growled as he led the boy out of the infirmary. "We've got work to do. Can you manage quieter in your Form or are you going to stay as a human?"

"I think I'd be louder and more noticable as a stag, Padfoot." James said.

"Ohh. Well, I'm changing. I'll lead the way." In an instant, the dog replaced the boy again. He started off with a slow trot, up, up, up the stairs towards the last place he caught Lauren's scent. When they arrived, James looked to Sirius as if to say, "What, this is it?"

"This is a blank wall, Paddy." James said skeptically. "Are you sure that nose of yours is working tonight?"

"Yes," He answered, swiftly returning to his true form. "What do you make of this? She couldn't have dissapeared into thin air... There must be something here." He looked at the wall and studied it. James did the same.

------------

"Remus? Can you hear me?" A soft voice broke the silence that now filled the infirmary. James' bed was twenty minutes cold, but the girl didn't seem to notice. 'He went back to the common room,' She figured. 'Madam Pomfrey must have fixed him up.'

The Ravenclaw, who had now found herself sleepless for no apparent reason that she could find, sat in the lonely room, waiting for an answer that might never come that night. "If you can hear me, move... or something."

Anything to get rid of that creepy feeling... Lauren hadn't returned to the Ravenclaw tower, and she didn't feel like going all the way to the Seventh Floor to sneak into a restricted dormitory to talk to Lauren's boyfriend... so she decided to come here.

"There's something I have to tell you."

For a second, she thought she saw Remus' eyes open slightly. He let out a breath and moved a bit. A hopeful smile flew onto Rosemary's face. His eyes moved again underneath their lids, and suddenly opened.

"Remus..." She paused. "I just wanted to tell you that I--"

He looked up into her face.

But suddenly, it wasn't a peaceful one. She looked shocked, frozen with fear, almost unable to shake whatever had come over her. Something moved just behind where she sat: a dark shadow of a person. Her face dissapeared slowly as she was pulled into the shadow, but there was nothing Remus could do. His vision blurred into darkness as he slipped back into his uncontrolled sleep.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter XVIII -- Lost and Found

"Well, I don't know what you want me to do about this." James sighed, looking over at Sirius. He sat again in the Hospital Wing. The sun had been up hours ago and classes had been filled twice over. They could miss a few classes; they'd done it for less important things before, after all. Madam Pomfrey believed their story that they were there to see Remus, thankfully, and had not rushed after them like an angry mother hen after a fox.

Sirius let out a long, sharp breath. "Well, we can't just sit back and do nothing. She's gone, and I want to know why."

"Do you really think this has something to do with that dream you had?" James raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Come on, Padfoot. She probably just got upset at you for being upset at her. It's not like it hasn't happened before."

"That's the thing: she _wasn't_ mad at me. We made up last night and now everything's fine... except I had that dream, and the next thing I know, she's gone."

"You can't just jump to conclusions." The sixth year ran his hand through his messy jet black hair. "She probably just went to the Ravenclaw common room."

"Only we can't go check, can we?" Sirius asked, almost harshly. "_You_ don't know the password and _I_ don't know the password... The only ones who do (that would actually trust us with it) are Rosemary and Lauren, the latter of which is currently missing. Moony might know, but how in the world are we going to get that from him while he's in this state?"

"Well, you can wake him now. Nobody's sleeping."

"Use your head, Prongs. Madam Pomfrey would kill us if we disturbed him. And I don't think she'd buy our story, even if it _is_ true."

James sat silent for a moment or two, gaze cast thoughtfully at the designs the stone made on the floor. "We could go to the Headmaster."

"I doubt he'd help us out after all the trouble we've caused him over the years. Why don't we just send Rosemary a letter; the owls are smart enough to find her for us."

"Why not just send a letter to Lauren?"

"Better send one to each of them just to be sure." Sirius said with a slight frown.

The letter was written and the boys trekked up to the Owlry. They called down Rosemary's owl. The bold, curious barn owl let them tie the letter to his leg and off he went in search of his master. For Lauren's letter, they managed to catch James' great gray owl. She left, catching up with the much-smaller barn owl with a few quick beats of her enormous wings. It was back to the Hospital Wing for James and Sirius.

They found themselves sitting back in the same chairs as before, somewhere between James' former bed and Remus' current one. Nothing much was said between the two for about twenty minutes. A loud humming of wings sounded outside, and James rose to see what it was. He opened the window and was not too surprised at what he saw: his owl, letter still intact.

"Told you," Sirius said. But he didn't get to say much more before Remus stirred nearby. The two of them turned as Remus began to mumble something. James turned back to his owl. "He does this all the time," He explained as he removed the letter from the owl's leg. But when Remus began to mutter louder, more urgently, James looked his way.

They both took a step or two in his direction. Remus was beginning to look as though he was trying to wake up, tearing away from whatever dreams and sickness held him back. But before either of them could do anything, Remus shot up in the hospital bed, saying loudly something that sounded like, "Gone! She's gone!"

He looked around wildly as the other two moved quickly towards him. They tried calming him so that Madam Pomfrey didn't come in and kick Sirius and James out for disturbing him, even though they didn't do anything. Sometimes, it didn't pay to be known as people one just couldn't trust.

"Calm down, Moony," Sirius said. "We know she's gone. Sirius already told me that Lauren went missing last night."

"What are you talking about?" He said, the words slightly jumbled and slurred. "Lauren's not the one missing."

A short rapping at the window caught their attention. James went to open it again.

"Sirius," He said a bit uncertainly. "I think you're going to want to see this."

Sirius went to the window as well. There, on the windowsill, stood the barn owl. Like with James' owl, his letter was still intact, right where they had tied it.

"Do you believe me now?" Blue eyes narrowed ever so slightly at the other hazel brown ones. James cast him a "don't rub it in" look. "They're your best friends, Prongs. _Our_ best friends. And _my_ girlfriend is one of them. What would you do if they had taken Lily? You'd hunt down whoever did this. I know you. I've known you since first year." He continued as Remus began to come to his senses. "Now this isn't really a surprise, if you think about it. After you two were landed in here, Lauren, Rosemary, and I got to talking. We think there's someone behind all this. After all, there was silver in Remus' goblet..."

"Silver?!" Remus choked. "No wonder..."

Sirius continued. "And then your broom caught fire for no apparent reason, and now _both_ Lauren and Rosemary are missing."

"They've hit all of us except you, Sirius." James said, a slight hint of worry sounding in his normally-calm voice. "Who do you think did it?"

"The girls and I suspected it might be Bridgette Smith. You know-- that nutter Gryffindor, the president of my _fanclub_?" He said disgustedly.

"We need to watch out, you could be next." Remus managed.

"Why don't we pay her a little visit?" James offered. "She could just happen to turn up missing as well, and perhaps stay that way even after they're found."

Remus shook his head. "We need to be careful, though. She could have accomplices. She could have the whole fanclub working for her."

"What class are we supposed to be in right now?" Sirius asked.

"Divinations, I think." Came the answer from James. "Are you well enough to come with us, Moony?"

"I think so."

"Good," Sirius smiled darkly. "Let's pay her a little visit, ehh?"

------------

Darkness. That's all she could see. Darkness, and maybe a dim light somewhere off in the distance. As she awoke, her eyes adjusted. She was confined to a small space, she could tell that. Harshly she swore a little to herself before searching her pockets. No wand. Just her luck. Whoever had kidnapped her had taken precautions. They knew how deadly she could potentially be. The girl moved her messy strawberry blonde hair out of her face and reached around. Bars. There were bars around her. She began to hit them, pounding them with her fist, making such a racket that it echoed in the room she was in.

Once her eyes had fully adjusted, she looked around. She was definitely in a room, a large one at that. It was mostly dark, and there were a few items of what appeared to be furniture, but she couldn't be sure.

There came a noise, soft and rustling, moving and shifting. "Hello?" She asked, not sure if she wanted an answer or not. Someone made a groggy noise. Lauren listened with keen ears. The noise stopped. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place--- _Hold on_, she thought. _I DO recognise it..._ In a few seconds the sixth year had transformed herself into the form of a tawny she-wolf, her Animagus form. She gave a soft alert bark, questioning and cautious at the same time. The answer came as a groan and a long, low whine.

"Rosemary!" Lauren said hushedly as she transformed again. "Is that you?"

"Yeah... I'm sleepin'... Go back to bed." The sixth-year sounded groggy, as though she hadn't fully awoken yet.

"Hey, you know we're not in the Ravenclaw tower..." Lauren answered. "Wake up."

From in the darkness, Lauren could see Rosemary moving slightly somewhere nearby. She sighed heavily, as though she didn't feel like waking up at this hour, but was surprised to find herself in a similar situation to Lauren.

"What in the world happened?" She asked Lauren. "Where are we?"

"I don't know... I was sleeping in the Gryffindor common room because I didn't feel like going back to my four-poster, and the next thing I know I'm being dragged away and I end up here."

"I... I was just in the Hospital Wing, talking to Remus..." Rosemary's voice wavered.

"He's awake?"

Rosemary shook her head, but she seriously doubted Lauren could hear it. "No. He... he was still asleep when I saw him." There was a pause. "I can't find my wand. It's dark and I can't see and I can't find my wand and I don't know where I am!"

"I can't find mine, either. And we might be able to see better in our Forms." Lauren said. She returned to the wolf's coat, Rosemary doing the same. Their vision got a little better, but they still hadn't fully adjusted to their night vision yet.

"_Can you see anything?_" Rosemary asked.

"_No..._" Came her answer. "_Nothing yet._"

Suddenly, a light broke the eternal darkness. For a moment both of the wolves were blinded, but they had enough sense to return to their true forms before being discovered. Someone entered through what seemed like a doorway and walked over towards where Lauren was being held. Something moved. She tensed for an attack that might or might not come. Better safe than sorry.

There was a muttered incantation that sounded a lot like Lumos. A light flickered on in front of the girl's face. The tip of a wand was raised slowly to the mutterer's face. Lauren gasped in surprise as she looked into the face of her captor.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter XIX -- Certain Doom

"Gaze into the crystal and behold your future!"

Sirius Black, James Potter, and Remus Lupin entered the Divinations class as swiftly and casually as they could manage as heads turned their way. Sirius cast a few warning looks to the students that stared, but James and Remus ignored them. The teacher, a strange, willowy man named Augury, paused a moment to watch them before continuing with his lecture. Sirius glanced in the direction of a girl sitting nearby.

"See anything in that crystal ball of yours?" He hissed threateningly.

She looked at him darkly, but replaced it with a poisonously sweet smile. "Only the face of a dolt too dense to know what's good for him. Or who, for that matter."

He didn't look at her but fashioned himself a priggish look. "Now, now... It's not nice to talk about oneself like that. What would your mother say?"

James sneered in her direction. "Now, Padfoot, it's not nice to talk about others' parents. You should respect your elders. Smith's mother probably died of shame long ago, so you should respect the dead as well."

"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Potter?" She growled. "After all, didn't you almost become one of them, along with your friend, Lupin?"

Sirius' eyes narrowed threateningly as he looked her in the eye. She tried to look away, but his gaze held her as he cursed at her a little. "You'd better watch it before you end up taking a long swim in a deep lake."

"I'm so scared," She mocked. "Hit me with your best shot."

Sirius rose to meet her dare, but Remus stopped him. "We don't know for sure whether she did it or not... We need to wait until we can interrogate her and get it out of her that way--"

But it was too late. Sirius had risen fully to his feet and held his wand in an outstretched hand, pointed directly at Smith's throat. "Don't cross me, witch." He said harshly. "You'll wish you never did."

"What, are you going to do to me what you did you Snape: poke him? You're lucky Dumbledore was there to stop him before he landed _you_ in the Hospital Wing as well."

"James," Sirius said warningly. "You'd better shut her fat mouth before I make it so she has no mouth to talk from."

"So now you're getting your buddies to back you up? How _brave_." She spat sarcastially. "Just about as brave as your attempt to find your precious _girlfriend_. Too bad you failed miserably."

Sirius could feel his blood beginning to boil and turn to steam in his veins. "How did you know that?" His wand tip was now pressing roughly against her throat, but she stared him down. "You sneaky little..." His voice trailed off before he roared suddenly. "You'd better tell me where they are, before my face ends up being the last you ever see. Don't think I won't do it. It's almost my last year here; what are they going to do to me? Expell me?" He laughed madly. "And I'm not afraid of going to Azkaban, either."

Professor Augury stared in disbelief, unable to do anything. Nobody else in the room dared move a muscle.

Smith decided to get haughty. "I've taken them." She said softly. "Both of them. It's all a game, Sirius... A game I was losing when that _Slytherin_ decided to bewitch you. I tried warning you, Black. She was no good from the start. Now I'm just ridding you of your certain doom and ensuring my win."

"I'm about to be _your_ certain doom. Take me to them. NOW."

She didn't listen, but continued. "I decided long ago, before I made that bloody fanclub, that I'd have you one day. All to myself. It was going perfectly, until _she_ came into the picture. I tried to get you for myself at first, but I saw that you were too far under her power... and, well, if I can't have you, nobody can."

Sirius was furious beyond words. He could hardly sputter out a curse to put on the girl. He stood there, killing her with his eyes, killing her in his mind. But she merely laughed at his motionlessness and stood up.

"As long as she's alive you'll never find her. Even if you kill me, I've got an accomplice... He'll do you in where I didn't have the heart to."

------------

"Where are we?" Lauren asked furiously, lashing out at her captor. "Why in the world are you keeping us here?"

Thin lips curled into a dark smile. Beady eyes narrowed under a frame of greasy hair. Slytherin colors glittered slightly in the dim light. "You'll never get out of here, so it doesn't matter where you are." A voice whispered, almost snake-like in its coldness.

Lauren recognized that voice almost immediatelly. "Snape..." She said viciously.

Severus laughed. "Yes, clever... Such a brilliant girl you are. Too bad you had to go and betray your house, your Hogwarts _family_. We could have been great, all of us. Taken over the school with your help. But now you hang out with those _Marauders_." His voice was almost poisonous as he spat out the last word. "You've spelled your own fate."

Rosemary snickered. "No pun intended?"

Snape turned, furious that she dare mock him. "Don't think you're so easily off the hook, either. Ravenclaw, Slytherin, _Gryffindor_... You'll all get what's coming to you in the end. And I have a feeling this end has just begun."

Rosemary recoiled slightly. "So you're going to just kill us all, just like that? You know where that'll land you? You'll be a jailbird for the rest of your miserable life, even if you _did_ manage to kill all of us. So, how do you plan on going about all this unseen?"

"I have my ways." He said quietly. "Right about now, Potter and Lupin are in the Hospital Wing, just as planned. Black should be heading to Divinations, where someone's waiting for him with quite a nasty surprise." His lips curled into a cruel smile. "He won't even know what hit him."

"You really think Sirius is that dense? He'll see right through it. He's a clever boy... He can hold his own, especially against the likes of _you_. Your plan will never work."

"_My_ plan?" Snape's laughter echoed through the room. Rosemary glanced to Lauren behind him. She motioned to the wand he had just returned to his pocket, now that a bit of light flowed into the room. Rosemary gave a slight nod and returned her gaze to Snape.

He looked at Rosemary. "You honestly think this is all the work of my brilliant mind? Oh, you give me too much credit, little fifth-year. But then I don't expect you to be _that_ bright, even if you are in Ravenclaw." Snape sighed. "Nope, the real brains in this school are scattered throughout every house, and I've managed to ally with the best of them."

"Ally?" Rosemary asked doubtfully. She had to keep him talking... it was the only way for Lauren's unspoken plan to work. "Who would that be?"

"You honestly think I'd tell you?"

"Well, it wouldn't matter, would it, seeing as we'll both be dead soon anyways...?" Rosemary shrugged, trying to keep calm.

Snape scoffed. "What fun would that be, telling you? No, I think it makes the game all the better if you're kept guessing."

"Freeze." Lauren said suddenly. "Turn around, Snivellus."

Snape turned slowly, showing no fear. Lauren held his wand well out of his reach, but pointed it directly at him. He let out a small, frustrated growl as she stared him down.

"I suggest you leave before I make haggis out of you." Lauren looked him in the face, the wand raised threateningly. "Three..."

He didn't move.

"Two..."

Snape flinched.

"One." Lauren moved the wand slightly and said harshly, "Stupefy!" Snape moved quickly, making a retreat out that door not far off. The jet of red hit something (presumably a wall) and disappeared.

"Maybe you can use it to break those bars..." Rosemary suggested. Lauren held the wand to them and muttered "Alohamora," hoping that it would work. Nothing. "Maybe you have to use some sort of breaking or melting charm," Rosemary suggested again.

"Do you know any?"

"Ummm... No."

"Well, then, don't suggest it because I don't know any either." Lauren sounded annoyed.

Rosemary frowned in the darkness. "So how are we going to get out of here? Snape's bound to come back for his wand. Better use it while we still can."

"Accio wand," Lauren said with a wave. She waited a few moments. Nothing happened.

"We're probably too far away. Try calling up an inkpot, quill, piece of parchment, and my owl."

Lauren stared at her, almost in angry disbelief. As if she could conjure that many things up when she could hardly get her wand to appear! She turned a little and sunk down on the spot. Her mind wandered briefly back to a day not long ago now, just two summers ago. It had been horrid... her own parents destroying her house with her still inside... but she had used her Patronus, a briliant silver unicorn, to alert the Headmaster to her presence. It had saved her life. Perhaps now, it could be used once again to do the same.

Mentally, she conjured up the happiest thing she could. She imagined herself in Dumbledore's office of her own accord, petting Fawkes and chatting with the man as if he were her best friend. There were no classes (at least none she was going to be forced to go to) in this thought, and no worry of ever growing old or seeing loved ones die or anything of the sort. She crossed her fingers, not quite wanting to let go of the thought as she raised the wand slightly. "Expecto Patronum." Her voice was barely above a whisper as the silvery figure erupted from the tip. It circled around and turned to face her, ghostly blue eyes settling eerily on her own. It was not the unicorn she expected, but a magnificent phoenix. It had an oddly calming effect despite the shock that it was not quite the patronus she had been anticipating. It whirled once more, feathers trailing behind it as it headed for the direction Snape had fled.

"What is that?!" Lauren heard Rosemary ask, sounding slightly jumpy. There was no reply as the Slytherin twirled the wand. It was sleek, black, and quite nice; perhaps she'd keep it after this was all through and "conveniently" forget to return it to its rightful owner.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter XX -- Flame and Feathers

The girls weren't sure just how long it had been since Lauren sent out her patronus. Minutes... perhaps hours... Lauren sat silently in a corner, wand still in hand. She thought about the patronus before a wave of panic settled on her. It was dark, alone, and her life was probably in danger; never mind about Rosemary, whom she had forgotten was even there.

In her mind, she was back at her house, where her parents had blown the place up because she had utterly disgraced them, her pureblood lineage, and the Slytherin house she refused to call home. A Death Eater towered over her in this horrible memory, and the unbearable pain of the Cruciatus curse flickered a little. Her mother was there as well... watching. Lauren let out a little cry; the memory itself was so real...

From somewhere nearby she heard a voice. "Lauren? Are you alright?" It was another Death Eater to her. Hardly taking in the words, the Slytherin pointed the wand towards where she had heard the voice. "Reducto!"

Rosemary let out a little shriek and a few more spells were fired her way, but she managed to dodge them. Why had her own friend turned on her so suddenly? The confusion and fear that perhaps Lauren had, in her fear, gone mad or at least traitorous scared her more than the thought of never escaping from this place, but somehow she forced herself to look back Lauren's way. Making as little noise as possible, the Ravenclaw transformed herself once again into the grey wolf. As her eyes adjusted to seeing better in the dark, she could see Lauren huddling and shaking a bit, but that's not all she saw. The force of Lauren's random spells had blasted a hole in the bars just wide enough that perhaps she could slip through...

With all the grace the canine could muster, she slipped through. Freedom, at last! But there was still Lauren...

She let out a whimper, soft as she could manage before her breath hitched in her throat. "_Lauren?_" There was no immediate answer, but the girl seemed to have noticed the noise and was searching the darkness for the source. "_I... I'll try to get you out._" The wolf forced back her human fears and tried to clear her head. She had no wand, and no other way to get her comrade free; asking Lauren for the wand in her state was out of the question. There was only one other solution.

"_I'll be back, Lauren. I'm going for help,_" Breen barked softly, knowing Lauren wouldn't be able to understand, not with those human ears of hers. It felt better, though, to say something instead of just leaving... There was a door around here somewhere, she knew. The wolf set to work, pacing the wall from which Snape had come and then gone as quietly as she could.

Before she could do anything, however, someone opened the door. In her horror, the wolf froze; could this be Snape, or perhaps this unnamed accomplice he had mentioned before? Someone was going to find out now... she'd be sent to the Ministry for a hearing and the consequences... She didn't even want to think about it.

But the person, whoever it was, paused as it looked at her, then moved on towards Lauren. "Miss Scutio..." Breen recognized that voice! It was Dumbledore! Whatever that silver thing was that Lauren had sent out must have alerted him and brought him here, saving her a trip all the way over there and out in the open. As Dumbledore kneeled towards the bars towards Lauren, the wolf transformed back into the human form she had wished Dumbledore had caught her in before.

"Professor..." Her voice wavered a moment before it rose, growing loud and frightened. "I--I don't know what's wrong with her. Where are we? How did we get here? I just don't know! One minute she was fine, the next she's firing spells at me and doing this!" She pointed to Lauren, who was now pressed against the wall, pleading with some unseen attacker.

Dumbledore's answer was quiet. "Everything will be alright. You are in my care, and always will be." He turned back to Lauren and began calmly talking with her as he pointed his own wand at the bars and cleared himself a path towards Lauren. He took hold of her shoulders and tried to bring her to her senses. "Lauren... You are alright. You are in Hogwarts, with me... Forget whatever it is you are seeing now, forget whatever it is you are hearing and feeling and concentrate on my voice."

Slowly, Lauren regained a hold on herself, realizing that it had all been in her head, a mere memory she never wanted to recall again. It suddenly hit her that she was safe now... Lauren took hold of Dumbledore's sleeves and buried her face against the man's chest in a flood of incoherent sobbing.

It seemed like ages before Lauren had finally calmed down and the three of them left for the Hospital Wing. Rosemary looked towards the Headmaster as they walked down the Grand Staircase. "Professor, wh-where were we? I've never seen any place like that before, here no less. I didn't think you would allow students access to a place like that."

"And what sort of students might that be?"

She frowned, looking at Lauren. "I... I don't know. Lauren?"

"I don't remember, either." She mumbled.

"Curious. It seems someone must have put a charm on the Room of Requirement to protect their identity." He seemed slightly unconcerned, but they knew that he would get it sorted out somehow. As the door to the Infirmary came into view, he greeted Madam Pomfrey and began explaining the situation to her.

"Please, take a seat inside, girls," Madam Pomfrey motioned inside before Dumbledore continued.

Rosemary glanced nervously at Lauren a few times. Lauren gave her a questioning look, but the Ravenclaw answered with a shaking of her head. The pair walked past the quietly talking professors and into the Infirmary, nearly running into three familiar faces.

"Sirius! James! Remus!" Rosemary exclaimed. There wasn't much of a verbal response out of Lauren, but the other four began talking, excited that everyone was alright and accounted for.

"Where have you been? We were worried-- all of us. We didn't know what had happened to your or anything." Sirius said, perhaps sounding a bit like a relieved mother. Lauren answered him with a warm embrace; she looked as though she was never going to let go, and he seemed alright with that.

Rosemary looked thankful to be amongst her friends once again, hopping a little from foot to foot as though torn between a tough decision as James and Remus both asked the same things Sirius was wondering. Her mind was made up soon enough, though, as she shot towards James and hugged him, then towards Remus, where she lingered a bit. "I was... just so scared. We both were, I think. And then..." She let go of Remus and looked toward Lauren, who was still hugging Sirius. "You..."

"I'm not feeling well," Lauren said quietly, walking over to a bed nearby.

"Lay down." Sirius said. "What happened?"

Lauren didn't look like she was going to answer any time soon as Madam Pomfrey approached, looking as stern and concerned as ever. "I am glad to see you have followed my instruction, Miss Scutio, for once in your Hogwarts career. Miss DiNozzo, however, has not, and I'm wondering why."

Rosemary took the hint and took a seat on the one next to Lauren's. Madam Pomfrey gave her a critical look. "You seem to be feeling rather lively, given the circumstances. How are you feeling?"

"Umm... A little shaken up--"

"Understandably."

"--But I think I'm fine. Thanks to my quick reflexes and lots of luck." She gave Lauren another nervous look, receiving a confused one from Sirius. "Never mind."

Pomfrey turned to Lauren. "How are you feeling, Miss Scutio?" She did not expect her to be doing as well as Rosemary was.

"I... I'm tired." Lauren said a little quietly.

Madam Pomfrey gave a concerned look and began rummaging through things in a cabinet nearby. "Here." She handed Lauren a goblet and poured a small amount of liquid in it. "Drink this. As for everyone else, Miss Scutio will need her rest, but you may stay if you wish. The dreamless sleep potion I gave her will make her, obviously, very tired, so do not wake her or I'll cut off all visits." The other four nodded as Lauren's eyelids began to droop, her goblet barely making it to a nearby stand before she started snoozing. Pomfrey continued. "You may stay the night if you wish. It may do Miss Scutio some good to have some company."

Dumbledore, who had been standing nearby, addressed Rosemary. "Miss DiNozzo, if you will, please fill your friends in on what has happened. I'm sure they are rather curious. But as for the part concerning Miss Scutio... I'm sure you'll know what to do." He winked at her before turning to leave. Rosemary nodded.

James, Sirius, and Remus all took seats on the bed next to Rosemary and waited rather impatiently for her to explain everything. She did, forgetting just who it was they saw in the Room of Requirement. She paused and looked at the sleeping Lauren as she got to the part of the story concerning the Patronus and simply said that Lauren would have to tell them the rest, if she wished to.

"Now, you two are alright, right?" She looked at James and Remus critically.

"Yes," Remus answered slowly.

The Ravenclaw frowned. "Good. You're not hurt or anything? Both in good health? Not feeling a little feverish? Don't have a headache or anything?"

"We appreciate your concern." James said. "But... I have questions."

"Me, too," Sirius answered. Remus nodded in agreement.

Rosemary sighed. "Alright. What do you want to know?"

"Where were you guys?" Remus asked.

Sirius raised his hand. "How did you get here?"

James waved at her. "And why was Dumbledore with you?"

"Okay, slow down, Peanut Gallery," She said. "One at a time. I don't know where we were, we came here with Dumbledore, and Dumbledore just... came and got us. Something went out of the room, and the rest is a little hazy."

They stared. "What?"

There was another sigh from Rosemary. "Let me explain this in little words so you can understand." She ignored the offended looks she received. "We were both taken by someone we can't remember. We woke up in some place, separated, in the dark. We couldn't get out." Rosemary made motions with her arms as if she was talking to small children. "Lauren took... someone's wand, and started blasting at me for no reason. Ohh, but she sent some patronus, I think, and that's what went to get Dumbledore. Anyway, so I got out and then Dumbledore came in and got us and then took us here. So no more questions."

"But... why is she so tired?" Sirius asked, showing proper concern for the health of his girlfriend.

"I said no more questions, Mister." Rosemary shook her head. "She stayed awake most of the time, I think, and was awake before I was..." She let out a small laugh. "I don't know how I could sleep through something like that."

The other three laughed a little weakly.

"Ohh, come on," Rosemary sighed. "We're fine, aren't we? Sort of. And you two are obviously alright now, thank goodness." She motioned to James and Remus. "Lauren's in Madam Pomfrey's care and I'm doing fine. Can't we return to that fun, laughing group we used to be?" There was silence for a moment.

"Sure, why not?" Remus said finally. "Though this is hardly a joking matter."

"Ahh, I see Miss Scutio has already been attended to by Madam Pomfrey." The four turned to see Dumbledore standing just behind them. "How are you doing, Miss DiNozzo?"

"I'm fine, thank you, Professor." Rosemary said with a smile before returning her gaze to Lauren. "You look like you know what was going on back there. What was going on?"

Dumbledore glanced at the Ravenclaw only briefly. "Lauren's life has not been all fun and games as you may think. She has had rather trying times, and at times may relive them. It is up to her whether you should know exactly what those times were." He didn't say another word, but gave a mischievous smile as he turned to walk away.

Rosemary sighed in frustration. "Well, that didn't answer my question at all. I quit. Madam Pomfrey?"

The nurse, sitting at her desk, looked up. "Yes, Miss DiNozzo?"

She didn't look over. "May I leave?"

Madam Pomfrey stopped what she was doing. "You most certainly may not--"

Rosemary tuned her out as she went into one of her long lectures about health and the well-being of those she takes into her care. She moved onto the middle of the bed they were sitting on and leaned against the headboard. She looked over at James, Remus and Sirius. "Be glad she let you two leave. I'm sure you never told her you were leaving, of course..."

James laughed. "No, but we thought we'd never hear the end of it when we decided to come back here to look for you. After all, this would be the first place you'd go if you were hurt or anything."

Sirius blinked, looking from Remus to James. "Did either of you understand a word of how Rosemary explained what happened?"

"Feeling a little slow today, are we?" The Ravenclaw retorted.

James and Remus shook their heads. "Sometimes it's best not to ask."

"Alright, since I obviously can't leave... I'm tired and you three are crowding my bed." Rosemary decided. "See you later. Just don't let me miss the next run if I'm not out by then."

James, Remus, and Sirius said their goodbyes and left the girls to rest.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter XXI - Spies Among Us

Rosemary was released the next day, thankful she was not as bad off as Lauren was, who did not awaken until three days after being admitted to the Infirmary. Lauren's friends visited her often, but she was eager to be released as well so as not to miss the full moon that night. Just as she had hoped, Pomfrey let her go, and the Marauders were reunited once more.

The moonlight, though hidden by clouds, still lit the dim forest where the odd group ran. They turned as one, like a flock of birds, sure to steer clear of the Centaurs' part of the Forbidden Forest. The stag that ran just behind the werewolf snorted and tossed his antlered head as he looked over at the great black dog that ran not far off. The dog's ears flopped about, but he ignored it.

"_Just a few yards ahead-" _The dog barked to his comrades. "_The path we take back to the shack_."

A maned wolf, running just beside him, nodded as they took a turn. "_Yes, we're not far now, so-_"

Just behind her there was a breaking of brush and a slight yelp. "_Oww, oww, oww! Crap!_"

The she-wolf slowed and turned to see the grey wolf behind her come completely to a stop, turning in vain to look at her back leg. "_You go on ahead, Padfoot_," She called to the black dog, who seemed torn between following the werewolf and his stag friend. "_We'll catch up at the Shack._" The dog nodded and quickened his pace to make up for the ground lost between him and the other two, leaving the she-wolves by themselves.

"_What happened?_" The maned wolf, Tyra, asked the grey.

Breen lifted her back foot and turned to look at it, just before falling over. "_I.. I don't know, Tyra. Oww!_" She righted herself and panted a little. "_I'll never fully get used to being on four legs, or at least get used to having to stand on three. Anyway, I was just running and... I don't know. I just got a sharp pain in my ankle. I don't think I stepped wrong. Maybe it's sprained._"

Tyra snorted. "_Well, you shouldn't walk on it too much. It's too far to the shack, so let's go back towards the castle. You can transform there in the open so you can see better in the moonlight._"

The grey wolf put her ears back a little. "_But... won't someone see me?_"

"_Not if you do it quickly. Nobody's supposed to be outside this late anyway, including us, and I'll keep an eye out for Filch from the shadows. If I see anything, I'll bark. You're only taking a quick peek anyway. You can use your wand for more light, and if Moony decides he wants to come back this way Prongs and Padfoot will keep him away anyway, so you don't have to worry about being bitten, either._"

"_Okay, you convinced me._" Breen sighed, and then added with a laugh, "_But the only problem is walking on three legs._"

The pair headed towards the safety of the Grounds. Breen looked around carefully before transforming into Rosemary. The Ravenclaw looked into the Forest at Tyra before sitting beneath a tree to examine her ankle. "Oww! It hurts."

The wolf gave her a look that clearly said "Well, duh."

Rosemary scoffed a little at herself and pulled down her sock to look at it. She pulled her wand from her cloak and muttered, "Lumos," just as the clouds moved from the moon. She moved her foot about and looked back up at the sky a moment. "I think I might have just stepped wrong... It doesn't hurt so much anymore if I ignore it. I think I can walk on it tonight, but I'll still be careful about it." She nodded to the wolf in the shadows and put out her light, returned her wand to her cloak, and transformed back into the grey wolf again.

"_Well, you ready to go back to the Shack for the night?_" Tyra's muzzle wrinkled into a sort of laugh as she said in a singsong voice, "_Moony's probably worried about you._"

Breen laughed, and answered sarcastically. "_Sure, he's worried in that state, even though he has no earthly clue who we even are._"

The wolves headed for the Shrieking Shack a little slowly, Breen taking care to treat her leg gingerly as they went.

Somewhere, high in a tower, a girl watched out the window of Gryffindor Tower to the Forbidden Forest, malice shining in her eyes as she watched the grey she-wolf enter the forest again. She laughed, almost in disbelief at her own brilliant luck, and left for her dormitory upstairs. She'd definitely not get much sleep tonight, not after what she had just found out.

"So... feeling better, Rosemary?" Sirius looked to his friend as the group of five entered the Great Hall a bit late the next morning.

She nodded and gave a laugh. "Yes, I think I'm doing a bit better. I can walk, so that must be a good sign, ehh?"

Remus looked at her, a bit surprised that this bit of information had not reached him yet. "You're- what?"

Rosemary waved her hand absently. "Oh, I just stepped wrong or something last night. I'm fine now, so it doesn't matter. Here- let's get breakfast. I'm hungry." She sat at her usual seat at the Gryffindor table as her friends joined her. "Wait, I need to finish my Potions essay!" Rosemary scrambled to find her paper amongst her schoolbooks, along with a quill and an inkpot.

"Good thing I got mine done already," James said. "Thanks to Remus- I mean, thanks to my brilliant studying habits."

Remus gave him a disapproving look as Sirius stopped eating his breakfast to fumble with a few papers of his own. Rosemary leaned close over her parchment as she began writing quickly. Then-

"Sirius Orion Black! What on earth are you doing?"

It was Lauren. She was staring at Sirius, who was quite obviously writing down every word Rosemary had written on a nearly-blank piece of parchment.

Rosemary looked up at Sirius, who gave her an, "Oops, you caught me" look. She just laughed. "You know, you don't make any sense to me."

He sat up straight and set his quill down. "Why not?"

"Because first of all, we're not even supposed to turn in the same essay. Yours is something about how to make an advanced potion and mine-" She held up the parchment so he could read. "The Uses of Fairy Wings."

Sirius groaned and hid his face, just in time to see a few girls staring his way. Nothing out of the ordinary, really, but he recognized them from the day he, Lauren, and Rosemary fooled his fanclub...

He wasn't the only one being watched. Several times, Lauren caught the same girls staring at her, watching her every move, like vultures on a dying animal. James, Remus, and Rosemary all had the same thing happening... different girls they were almost sure they recognized were watching them. As December arrived, the stalking did not stop.

"They're really starting to watch us a whole lot, Lauren." Rosemary noted over dinner one night. "I really don't think they like you. You might have to start worrying when you go to sleep. We may never see you again."

Lauren laughed. "I guess I'll just have to sleep in the Boy's Dormitory tonight, then."

Remus, James, and Sirius all stared at her. "What?"

"I said I'll just have to sleep in your dormitory. I can't very well sleep in the Girl's Dormitory, can I? Not with my mortal enemy sleeping there. I'll have you three to protect me."

Rosemary snickered. "Ohh, and who would protect me? You'd leave me all alone to fend for myself while the rest of you at least have backup?"

Lauren sighed. "Fine. You can come with me."

"Umm... don't we have a say in this?" Remus asked.

James laughed. "You really don't know Lauren that well, do you?"

Remus sighed, taking a sip of pumpkin juice from his goblet. "Where will you sleep?"

"I'm sure there's enough room in Sirius' four-poster for me and him." Lauren grinned, looking Sirius' way.

Rosemary scoffed. "I'm sleeping on the floor, if anything. But now I'm not so sure I'd want to stay the night there. On second thought, I'll just chance it in my own four-poster."

Lauren laughed between bites. "Ohh, are you sure you don't want to spend the night there? I'm sure one of the other two has room, at least."

The Ravenclaw glared at her. "No."

Remus stared at Lauren. "If I hear anything at all-"

"Ohh, come on. I'll be quiet enough," Lauren said. "Besides, you won't hear anything for that long-"

"Alright, alright! I think we get it. Like I said- I'm sleeping in my own Dormitory tonight. I'd rather die than hear anything from you, Lauren." Rosemary watched her plate clear itself and left for Ravenclaw Tower as the others did the same.

She was awoken in the middle of the night by a noise downstairs, a loud rapping at the door to the Ravenclaw common room. Rosemary, still half asleep and in her pajamas, snuck out to the door without waking anyone else. She wasn't surprised to see who it was that had awoken her.

"Can we stay here for the night?" James asked, looking pitiful and quite tired as he held his pillow and blanket.

Remus stood next to him, also carrying his own pillow and blanket. "Yes, please. Just inside the common room, if anything."

Rosemary yawned. "Why?"

James sighed. "They're at it. And they won't quit. Or be quiet, for that matter."

The Ravenclaw groaned. "I knew it. That's exactly why I didn't stay there." She opened the door. "Here. There are enough sofas, I think. I'll try to wake you up before anyone else gets up so you can be out of here by morning without any trouble. But Lauren's going to pay; I'm not going to get much sleep thanks to her, even though I'm not even there. Why do we have to care so much about her?"

The other two laughed and each picked a sofa gratefully.

Rosemary stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked at them. "Don't tell me you need company."

"No, no, thank you." Remus yawned. "We've heard enough for one night."

She scoffed. "Are you saying I'd just chatter? Or are you saying I'd do what Lauren did? Because I'd do neither. Some of us wouldn't sink so low as she did, and I'm appalled that you'd think I would, Mister Lupin!" Rosemary sounded quite offended. "Is this the thanks I get for letting you in here? Be glad I don't send you back right now to suffer alone because James hasn't made a comment like that." The looked at James. "Thank you."

James grinned. "Goodnight, Rosemary."

"Goodnight," came the grouchy answer, and the girl ascended the stairs to sleep once more.

"Good one, mate," James laughed quietly at Remus.

"Ohh, stuff it."

And so Lauren and Sirius awoke to an empty Boy's Dormitory to find James, Remus, and Rosemary sitting downstairs, waiting for breakfast to begin.

"Ohh, come on... you can't still be upset about that." Remus said, arms crossed where he sat beside James on one of the crimson sofas. "Can you?"

Rosemary didn't even acknowledge that he was talking to her and simply looked at James and shook her head.

"Upset about what?" Lauren asked as she descended the stairs, Sirius a little too close behind.

The three of them looked her way. "You weren't exactly as quiet as you said you'd be last night, so we decided to go to Ravenclaw Tower," James said, looking a bit amused about the whole situation. "So Rosemary let us in and decided to so graciously ask if we needed company. Mister Moony here said that we didn't want to hear any more, and now Rosemary's upset at him."

Lauren laughed and looked at Remus. "Nice one."

"Well, I guess they can't all be as lucky as me," Sirius grinned, throwing himself into an armchair.

"Stupid Smith and her creepy fanclub," Rosemary muttered. "If she wasn't after Lauren, Lauren wouldn't have had to sleep with Sirius and then Remus wouldn't have made that stupid comment-"

There was a "Hey!" from Remus.

"-And we wouldn't be sitting here, awake before dawn so Remus and James wouldn't get caught in the Ravenclaw common room, and I wouldn't be so grouchy."

"You are quite grouchy..." Sirius agreed, receiving a glare.

James' eyes seemed to laugh in amusement at the whole ordeal. "I don't think you're grouchy, Rosemary."

Rosemary eyed him, but couldn't help cracking a small smile. "You're such a suck-up." She threw a nearby pillow at him with a laugh.

"A Potter, suck up? Well, I never!" James said, barely dodging the pillow thrown his way. "I just like seeing Remus and Sirius get in trouble."

The other two shot him looks that clearly said "Gee, thanks."

Lauren clapped her hands together. "Alright, then. Breakfast. Who's hungry?"

Rosemary raised her hand quickly. "I am. Let's go."


End file.
